Last Alizé will be grounded (updated)
Sad news has been announced by the board of the Association Alizé Marine, owner/operator of the world’s last remaining airworthy Breguet Br1050: as of 30 April 2023 Alizé No.59 (F-AZYI) will be grounded. The reason lies within the expiration of the lease with by Nîmes Métropole, manager of the Nîmes Grande Provence Méditerranée airport where the collection plane is parked. Unfortunately none of the steps taken by the association to secure the operation of this aircraft on the airport have seen results and is therefore unable to continue its activity.
The ongoing challenge of maintaining and presenting such an aircraft to the public is based on a set of parameters of a technical, financial and logistical nature, which the association could not control in case of transfer to another site, despite the options found by the Marine Nationale (French Navy) for shelter on other airfields in the south of France. In addition, the historical coherence of the heritage conservation project carried out by Alizé Marine would be completely distorted, since the history of the aircraft is closely linked to that of the airport, formerly an airbase.
The future of the association and its iconic aircraft will be decided at the next extraordinary general meeting. Its liquidation is being considered.
By the end of April, the Association Alizé Marine announced that Breguet Alizé No.59 (F-AZYI) would make its last flight at the airport of Nîmes Grande Provence Méditerranée on Saturday 29 April 2023. It was supposed to have been the very last time this iconic machine could be admired in flight. However , the Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace (AdlAE, French Air and Space Force) came to the rescue and offered a temporary new home. On 19 May, F-AZYI was ferried to Base Aérienne 701 at Salon de Provence, where the Association Alizé Marine has been offered hangarage for their historic submarine hunter for a limited period. First advantage was the fact that spectators at the rehearsal day for the show at Salon-de-Provence (BA701) on 19 May 2023 were treated with an unexpected presence and flight of the Alizé.
Photo by Piet Glas