The answer
Take the Navette Aéroport electric bus from arrivals (door C2) to Jeanne d'Arc, Jean Jaurès and Gare Matabiau in about 25 minutes for €9, every 15 minutes, 05:40–00:10 seven days — and you can now just tap a contactless bank card instead of buying any ticket.
The tram everyone's old guidebook cites (T2 straight to the Arènes) has been closed since June 2023 while metro line C is built under the city, and it stays shut until end-2026 — so the specially-priced, electric, high-frequency Navette, whose ticket also carries you on Toulouse's metro and trams for 90 minutes, is the working answer.
Tight budget? Bus line 31 to Blagnac's tram T1 stops, then tram/metro into the centre: ordinary Tisséo fares from €1.90, ~50 minutes, 10-minute bus frequency 05:30–midnight.
Door-to-door? Official taxis charge a flat €15–€47 by arrival zone, €26 for the central area, set by prefectural order — no meter drama.
⚠️ The traps (walk past these)
Tram T2 to the airport? Closed until end-2026
Metro-line-C works have shut the T2 rail link since 5 June 2023, and the airport and Tisséo both say it stays interrupted until end-2026; the reopened alignment becomes a 'Ligne Aéroport' feeding tram T1, with metro C itself due 2028. Arrive trusting a 2019 blog post and the platform has no tram on it.
Do this: walk to door C2 for the Navette or catch bus 31 — and re-check tram status the week you fly
Your €1.90 metro ticket does not board the Navette
The Navette carries a specific airport tariff — €9/€9.50 — and free or standard tickets are refused on board ('gratuitous titles are not accepted'), while inspectors check the validators at the door. Boarding with city fare is riding without a title on the express line.
Do this: tap your contactless bank card on the Navette's validator, or buy the airport title before boarding
Same taxi, €15 or €47 — the zone decides
Blagnac hotels sit in Zone 1 at €15 while the identical-looking cab to Zone 4 in the south charges €47, and booking the car by phone adds €3–€7 on top of the flat rate; €2 per suitcase stacks for a family. The flat fares are fixed, but nobody at the rank will tell you which zone your street falls in.
Do this: match your address to the airport page's zone list before boarding and pay the flat rate, not a negotiated 'forfait'
1 May: nothing public moves
The Navette runs 'every day except 1 May', line 31 and the tram follow the holiday skeleton or less, and the airport's tram closure means no fallback rail — a Labour Day landing is taxi and app cars only, with the €3–€7 reservation surcharges on top.
Do this: if you land on 1 May, book a taxi ahead (airport call centre 05 61 30 02 54) or budget Zone-2 €26 at the rank