Air France to move all domestic operations in Paris to Charles De Gaulle Airport
Air France announced Wednesday an adjustment of its domestic flights from Paris, which will result in a cutback, the divestiture of a portion to its low-cost subsidiary Transavia and the transfer of operations from Paris-Orly Airport to Charles de Gaulle.
In a statement, Air France justified these changes by a 40% drop in demand for domestic flights from Paris-Orly between 2019 and 2023, and even 60% for round-trip day trips.
This is attributed to the reduction in business travel due to the development of videoconferencing and the transfer of a portion of these trips to the train.
The main change is that in the summer of 2026, the airline will operate all its domestic and international flights in Paris from Charles de Gaulle airport with the sole exception of links to Corsica.
For the latter, it has submitted a joint bid with Air Corsica to renew the so-called Public Service Delegation (DSP) by which it guarantees territorial continuity with that French island in exchange for subsidies.
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Transavia, which is and will remain based at Orly, will become there the “reference operator” of the Air France-KLM group and will operate connections to Toulouse, Marseille and Nice as of summer 2026.
However, the transfer of Air France’s business from Orly to Charles de Gaulle will result in a cut in the group’s overall offer (which includes Transavia) to 90% of its current level on connections between Paris and Toulouse, Marseille and Nice.
On the other hand, 100% of the volume of supply between Paris and destinations in overseas France will be maintained.
For the group, these adjustments will allow “an optimization of the use of the means of each company, a better reading of the offer for customers and the improvement of Air France’s competitiveness”.
For Air France workers in Toulouse, Marseille and Nice, the impact will be “limited”, said the company, which specified that this will be managed through job changes or voluntary departures.
As for those based in Paris Orly, given the “strong needs in resources” that Air France has at Charles de Gaulle, all will be guaranteed equivalent employment at that airport.
With information from EFE
Plataforma Informativa de Aviación Comercial líder en América Latina.