Paris Orly Airport Reopens Friday After Being Closed For 3 Months

When a plane takes off Friday for Portugal, it will mark the first flight from Paris Orly Airport since it closed on March 31 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

While service is resuming, it will remain quite limited for now. Travelers will be able to catch flights to 25 destinations. But there will only be 70 takeoffs and landings daily compared to the typical 600 before the pandemic, according to the Agence France-Presse.

That first flight will carry passengers to Porto, Portugal when it takes off at 6:00 AM local time. Airport officials have said they project about 8,000 travelers daily when service resumes, compared to the typical 90,000.

How quickly air travel recovers in the coming months will depend on external factors France can’t control, such as how quickly other countries subdue their coronavirus outbreaks and how quickly they re-open their airports for travel.

Still, airports and airlines are a critical topic in France, and not just because it is traditionally the most-visited country.

Airlines such as Easy Jet and Air France are among the largest employers in France. And more broadly, aerospace giants such as Airbus, based near Toulouse, have a huge economic impact in the country. Airbus in particular has been devastated as the pandemic has not only shut down orders but is also likely to have a long-term impact on travel.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisobrien/2020/06/25/paris-orly-airport-reopens-friday-after-being-closed-for-3-months/#70b2cfa45228