The Olympic and Paralympic games will soon kick off in Paris, taking over the French capital from 26 July to 11 August and 28 August to 8 September, respectively. With thousands of athletes and millions of tourists arriving to see the competitions, the major airports in Paris are bracing for a busier than ever summer.
Besides the millions of passengers, Groupe Aéroports de Paris (ADP), the operator managing the city’s airports, is also preparing for a larger than usual amount of luggage. Whereas in any other year, ADP sees around 1,000 pieces of oversized luggage – sports equipment – across its airports, from the 115,000 pieces expected over the Olympics and Paralympics period, 17,000 will be oversized.
“During the summer of 2024, France will be the centre of the world. It is in our airports that the Games will begin and will end for many: everyone will make their first and last memories there”, group CEO Augustin de Romanet said when they became an official partner of the Olympics. “This is a magnificent challenge for the entire airport community and for our territories, and a unique opportunity to demonstrate our know-how and commitment to hospitality. Groupe ADP with all its employees, will be there to make Paris 2024 an unforgettable collective success.”
To face the traffic surge, along with the entire airport community, more than 5,000 employees of Groupe ADP in Paris will be mobilised to assist with the smooth running of operations and welcoming of the 15,000 athletes from the 208 delegations expected to arrive in the city in July.
Besides the additional staff, operational improvements have also been made. At Paris Charles De Gaulle, the capacity of baggage handling systems has been increased to 1,800 bags per hour for departures and 6,000 bags per hour for arrivals. At Paris Orly, a 4 km long routing system, set in a 9,800 m2 gallery has been installed to automatically sort 3,600 bags per hour for departures, while metro line 14, going from the airport to the city centre, should be inaugurated on 23 June.
While the airports are well prepared for the incoming visitors, during the opening ceremony on 26 June, no traffic will be allowed, with a no-fly zone the size of Belgium set in place for safety reasons. From 4:30 pm to 10 pm, no flights, will be taking off or landing at the Charles de Gaulle, Orly or Beauvais airports. Moreover, no planes will be allowed to fly over the 75,000-square-kilometre area, regardless of their departure or destination city.
