LFJY Chambley

Chambley-Bussières Air Base is a former United States Air Force base in France. It is located in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département of France, about 20 km (12 mi) west of the French city of Metz, and about 2 km (1.2 mi) southwest of Chambley-Bussières, on the south side of the Départementale 901 (D901) (Meurthe-et-Moselle) road. The airport, now known as Chambley Planet'Air Aerodrome, is active as a civil airport.

The first use of Chambley-Bussières as an airfield was in 1940, when the French Air Force stationed 9 Potez 631 fighters and 5 Mureaux 117 observation aircraft on farmland. The aircraft were assigned to the GAO 2/506. After the Battle of France ended in May 1940, Chambley-Bussières was abandoned as an air base and returned to agricultural use. During the Cold War, Chambley-Bussières was a front-line base for the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE).

After the USAF's departure in 1967, the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) assumed control of Chambley AB. It was used for various flight operations and also by airborne forces for many years.^{[clarification needed]}

Today, Chambley is being developed into a commercial business park. The runway and various taxiways are intact and usable. Many of the old USAF buildings and hangars are used for various non-military purposes.

The airfield is still classified as being a military airfield, however many aeronautical activities take place in particular by the means of a club of ultralight aircraft since over 20 years and the "Lorraine Mondial Air Ballons - GEMAB", which was Europe's largest hot air balloon festival and took place here every two years at the end of July until the final edition in 2023.^[2]

Since 2025 a new hot air balloon festival started. The first edition of the Enenvol – Chambley International Balloon Fiesta, held from July 25 to August 3, 2025, was a spectacular celebration of hot air ballooning that captivated thousands of visitors and pilots from around the world. Including Mass Ascents & Special Flights: Over 19 scheduled flights, including magical dawn patrols, night glows, night flights and a friendly competition in the form of a key grab and another task competition

Since 16 July 2009, the main runway (05/23) of the airfield is now open to civil air traffic restricted to very light aircraft with code LFJY.