France's Marseille airport says closing due to nearby wildfire

Marseille: Marseille airport said it was closing on Tuesday due to a wildfire that firefighters said was spreading rapidly in a nearby area, close to the southern French city.

The air hub's website showed several afternoon departures, including to Brussels, Munich and Naples, had been cancelled.

The airport for France's second city sits in the town of Marignane just north of the city.

A fire in the nearby town of Pennes-Mirabeau sent plumes of acrid smoke billowing over the city and its airport on Tuesday, leading to the runways closing shortly after midday and to at least 10 flights being cancelled, a spokesman for the Marseille Provence airport said.

The mayor of Pennes-Mirabeau said two housing estates had been evacuated and firefighters had positioned themselves outside an old people's homes to fight off approaching flames.

The Marseille Provence airport is the country's fourth after Charles-de-Gaulle and Orly outside Paris, and Nice.

Several forest fires have raged in recent days in southern France, spreading rapidly due to wind and parched vegetation after a heatwave.

Scientists say human-induced climate change is increasing the intensity, length and frequency of the extreme heat that causes some forest fires.