Aéroport Paris–Charles de Gaulle

Paris

Description

Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (French: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, IATA: CDG, ICAO: LFPG), also known as Roissy Airport (or just Roissy in French), is one of the world's principal aviation centres, as well as France's largest international airport. It is named after Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970), leader of the Free French Forces and founder of the French Fifth Republic, as well as the President of France from 1959 to 1969. The airport is located within portions of several communes, 25 km (16 mi) to the northeast of Paris. The airport serves as the principal hub for Air France as well as a European hub for Delta Air Lines.

Location

Paris Charles de Gaulle airport covers 32.38 square kilometres (12.50 sq mi) of land. The choice of this vast area was made based on the limited number of potential relocations and expropriations and the possibility to further expand the airport in the future. It straddles three départements and six communes:

• -- Seine-et-Marne département: communes of Le Mesnil-Amelot (Terminals 2E, 2F), Mauregard (Terminals 1, 3), Mitry-Mory
• -- Seine-Saint-Denis département: commune of Tremblay-en-France (Terminals 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D and Roissypôle)
• -- Val-d'Oise département: communes of Roissy-en-France and Épiais-lès-Louvres

Management of the airport is solely under the authority of Aéroports de Paris (ADP), which also manages Orly, Le Bourget, Marsa Alam in Egypt, and several smaller airports in the suburbs of Paris.

History

Development

The planning and construction phase of what was known then as Aéroport de Paris Nord (Paris North Airport) began in 1966. On 8 March 1974 the airport, renamed Charles de Gaulle Airport, opened. Terminal 1 was built in an avant-garde design of a ten-floors-high circular building surrounded by seven satellite buildings, each with six gates allowing sunlight to enter through apertures. The main architect was Paul Andreu, who was also in charge of the extensions during the following decades.

Corporate identity

The Frutiger typeface was commissioned for use in the airport and implemented on signs throughout the building in 1975. Initially called Roissy, it was renamed after its designer Adrian Frutiger.

Until 2005, every PA announcement made at Terminal 1 was preceded by a distinctive chime, nicknamed "Indicatif Roissy" and composed by Bernard Parmegiani in 1971. The chime can be heard in the Roman Polanski film Frantic. The chime was officially replaced by the "Indicatif ADP" chime.

Terminals

The Airport has three terminals. Terminal 1 is the oldest. Terminal 2 was originally built exclusively for Air France; since then it has been expanded significantly and now also hosts other airlines. The third terminal (T3, formerly T9) hosts charter and low-cost airlines. The CDGVAL is a light-rail shuttle that links the terminals, railway station and parking lots. Started on 4 April 2007, the CDGVAL links all three terminals (except hall 2G). There is only a single station for Terminal 2, near the rail station, so the walk distance to the more distant halls 2A–2B is more than 500 m (1,600 ft). Both CDGVAL and bus are needed to reach 2G from Terminal 1.

Terminal 1

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The first terminal, designed by Paul Andreu, was built in the image of an octopus. It consists of a circular central part housing central functions like check-in and baggage claim. Seven satellites which are connected to the central building by underground walkways contain the gates.

The central building, with a large skylight in its centre, sees each floor dedicated to a single function. The first floor is reserved for technical functions and is not accessible to the public. The second floor contains shops and restaurants, the CDGVAL shuttle platforms and a part of the counters from a recent renovation. The majority of check-in counters are located on the third floor, which also has access to travel by taxi, bus and special vehicles. Departing travellers can reach the fourth floor, which contains duty-free stores and border control posts, and connects, by tunnels passing under the tarmac, to satellite terminals where the boarding gates are located. Travellers arriving in these same satellites follow a path to reach the fifth floor where baggage claim and customs are located, as well as the arrival area and exit areas. The four upper floors are reserved for parking or use of administration and the airlines.

The passage between the third, fourth and fifth floors is done through a tangle of escalators arranged in the centre of the building. These escalators are suspended over the central court. Each escalator is covered with a transparent tube for cover from the weather. These escalators were often used in films (for example, in The Last Gang of Ariel Zeitoun). The Alan Parsons Project album I Robot features these escalators on its cover.

Terminal 2

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This consists of seven sub-terminals, designated A-G. Terminals 2A-2F are joined by ground-level or below-ground passageways, while terminal 2G is 800 m (0.5 mi) away, and is only reachable by a bus service from the other terminals. K, L and M are not terminals but halls of terminal 2E. Terminal 2 has an RER and TGV station, Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV, below the common area linking halls 2C–2F.

Terminal 2F was used for the filming of the music video for the U2 song "Beautiful Day". The band also had their picture taken inside Terminal 2F for the album artwork of their 2000 album "All That You Can't Leave Behind."

Collapse of Terminal 2E

On 23 May 2004, not long after the inauguration of terminal 2E, a portion of it collapsed near Gate E50, killing four people.[10] Two of the dead were reported to be Chinese citizens and another a Czech. Three other people were injured in the collapse. Terminal 2E had been inaugurated in 2003 after some delays in construction and was designed by Paul Andreu. Administrative and judicial enquiries were started. Andreu also designed Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport, which collapsed while under construction on 28 September 2004.

Before this accident, ADP had been planning for an initial public offering in 2005 with the new terminal as a major attraction for investors. The partial collapse and indefinite closing of the terminal just before the beginning of summer seriously hurt the airport's business plan.

In February 2005, the results from the administrative inquiry were published. The experts pointed out that there was no single fault, but rather a number of causes for the collapse, in a design that had little margin for safety. The inquiry found the concrete vaulted roof was not resilient enough and had been pierced by metallic pillars and some openings weakened the structure. Sources close to the inquiry also disclosed that the whole building chain had worked as close to the limits as possible, so as to reduce costs. Paul Andreu denounced the building companies for having not correctly prepared the reinforced concrete.

On 17 March 2005, ADP decided to tear down and rebuild the whole part of Terminal 2E (the "jetty") of which a section had collapsed, at a cost of approximately €100 million. The reconstruction replaced the innovative concrete tube style of the jetty with a more traditional steel and glass structure. During reconstruction, two temporary departure lounges were constructed in the vicinity of the terminal that replicated the capacity of 2E before the collapse. The terminal reopened completely on 30 March 2008.

Terminal 2G

Terminal 2G, dedicated to regional Air France flights and its affiliates, opened in 2008. This terminal is to the east of all terminals and can only be reached by shuttle bus. Terminal 2G is used for passengers flying in the Schengen Area (and thus has no passport control) and handles Air France regional and European traffic and provides small-capacity planes (up to 150 passengers) with a faster turnaround time than is currently possible by enabling them to park close to the new terminal building and boarding passengers primarily by bus, or walking. A bus line called "navette orange" connects the terminal 2G inside the safety check area with terminals 2E and 2F. Passengers transferring to other terminals need to take a bus in the public area, and therefore pass through safety checks again.

Hall L (Satellite 3)

The completion of 750 m (2,460 ft) long Satellite 3 (or S3) to the immediate east of Terminals 2E and 2F provides further jetways for large-capacity airliners, specifically the Airbus A380. Check-in and baggage handling are provided by the existing infrastructure in Terminals 2E and 2F. Satellite 3 was opened in part on 27 June 2007 and fully operational in September 2007. It corresponds now to gates L of terminal 2E.

Hall M (Satellite 4)

The satellite S4, adjacent to the S3 and part of terminal 2E, officially opened on 28 June 2012. It corresponds now to gates M of terminal 2E. Dedicated to long-haul flights, it has the ability to handle 16 aircraft at the same time, with an expected capacity of 7.8 million passengers per year. Its opening has led to the relocation of all Skyteam airlines to terminals 2E (for international carriers), 2F (for Schengen European carriers) and 2G.

Future

Air France has moved all of its operations previously located at 2C to 2E. In October 2012, 2F closed its international operations and became completely Schengen, allowing for all Air France flights currently operating in 2D to relocate to terminal 2F. Further, in April 2013, Terminal 2B closed for a complete renovation (all airlines relocated to 2D) and will receive upgrades including the addition of a second floor completely dedicated to arrivals. Once 2B is completed, 2D will close and receive similar upgrades, including the addition of a new floor. Low-cost carrier easyJet has shown its interest in being the sole carrier at 2B. To facilitate connections, a new boarding area between 2A and 2C was opened in March 2012. It allows for all security and passport control to be handled in a single area, allows for many new shopping opportunities as well as new airline lounges, and eases transfer restrictions between 2A and 2C.

According to La Tribune newspaper a new Terminal 4 is likely to be built around 2025, when Charles de Gaulle Airport's maximum capacity of 80 millions will be reached. This new Terminal 4, when constructed, will be able to accommodate 30-40 million passengers per year and will most likely be built north of Terminal 2E.

Terminal 3

Terminal 3 consists of separate buildings for both arrivals and departures. It is located 1 km (0.62 mi) from Terminal 1, but the walking path is 3 km (1.9 mi) long. The RER and CDGVAL trains are at a distance of 300 m (980 ft) on foot. This terminal building has no direct boarding gates, all passengers are ferried via buses to the aircraft stands.

Roissypôle

Roissypôle is a complex consisting of office buildings, shopping areas, hotels, and a bus coach and RER B station within Charles de Gaulle Airport. The complex includes the head office of Air France, Continental Square, the Hilton Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, and le Dôme building. Le Dôme includes the head office of Air France Consulting, an Air France subsidiary. Continental Square has the head office of XL Airways France, the head office of Air France subsidiary Servair and the Air France Vaccinations Centre.

Ground transportation

CDGVAL

A free automatic shuttle rail service at Charles de Gaulle Airport consisting in two lines CDGVAL and LISA based on the VAL system links the three airport terminals, RER and TGV stations and main car parks within 8 minutes.

RER

CDG airport is connected to Paris by the RER B suburban route (€10 in 2015[43]). In off-peak hours and during the weekend, there are two types of services:

• -- 4 trains per hour to Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse calling at all stations to Cité Universitaire, then Bourg-la-Reine, La Croix de Berny, Antony, Massy–Palaiseau and then all stations to Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse; and
• -- 4 trains per hour to Massy–Palaiseau (on the Saint-Rémy line), express until Gare du Nord and then all stations to Massy–Palaiseau.

The fast services take about 30 minutes to the Gare du Nord, the stopping services about 35. There are two RER B stations inside the airport:

• one, called Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 1, is located inside Roissypôle (an area with hotels and company offices) next to Terminal 3 and is the preferred way to access Terminals 1 and 3;
• the other, called Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV, is located beside the TGV station under Terminal 2.

RER B serves both CDG airport (with a travelling clientele) as well as northern suburbs of Paris. The line, operated by SNCF, suffers from slowness and overcrowding. For these reasons, French authorities started two projects: one, CDG Express, is supposed to link CDG to Paris Gare de l'Est from 2023 with trains specifically designed for air travellers but seems to be delayed; the other, RER B Nord Plus, will modernise and streamline the northern branches of RER B.

TGV

Terminal 2 includes a TGV station on the LGV Interconnexion Est high-speed line. SNCF operates direct TGV services to several French stations from CDG, including Lille, Strasbourg, Dijon, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nantes, Poitiers, Rennes, Toulon, as well as services to Brussels in Belgium.

Bus

easyBus offers a direct, non-stop service to Paris centre, stopping at Le Palais Royal / Louvre area. Roissybus, operated by the RATP, departs from terminals 1 and 2 and goes non-stop to Paris, terminating behind the Palais Garnier.

Air France operates "Les Cars Air France" to several destinations: line 2 to Place de l'Etoile and Porte Maillot, line 3 to Paris Orly, line 4 to Gare Montparnasse, Gare de Lyon.

There is a bus and coach station in Roissypôle, next to the RER B station. Buses departing from this station include RATP lines 350 and 351 going to Paris and the bus going to the Parc Astérix.

A Bus VEA Disneyland shuttle departs from the three Terminals.

After the last RER B of 23:50, the Noctilien night bus N143 and N140 departs every half-hour and hour respectively from terminal 1 door D12, terminal 2F door 2 and Roissypôle at Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 1.

iDBus

Since 17 December 2012, SNCF's national and international coach network, IDBUS, serves Charles de Gaulle Airport, by terminal 3, station CDG 1.

• -- London – Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport – Lyon
• -- Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport – Lyon
• -- Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport – Lille
• -- Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport – Brussels

Car

Charles de Gaulle Airport is directly connected to Autoroute A1 which connects Paris and Lille.

Taxis and Transfers

The ride by taxi from CDG airport to city centre is 45 minutes and from €50 to €65, depending on the type of service/car required.

Alternative airports

The two other airports serving Paris are Orly Airport (the most important after CDG) and Le Bourget Airport (for general aviation and private jets). Some low-cost airlines also advertise Beauvais–Tillé Airport and Châlons Vatry Airport, respectively 85 km and 165 km from Paris proper, as serving Paris, using the names Paris–Beauvais and Paris–Vatry to designate them, even though they are not situated in the same administrative region as Paris.

Mehran Karimi Nasseri

On 26 August 1988, Mehran Karimi Nasseri found himself held at Charles de Gaulle airport by immigration. He claimed he was a refugee, but had his refugee papers stolen. After years of bureaucratic wrangling, it was concluded that Nasseri had entered the airport legally and could not be expelled from its walls, but since he had no papers, there was no country to deport him to, leaving him in residential limbo. Nasseri continued to live within the confines of the airport until 2006, even though French authorities had since made it possible for him to leave if he so wished. Nasseri was perhaps the inspiration for the 2004 film The Terminal. In July 2006 he was hospitalised and later taken care of by charities; he did not return to the airport.

Animals

The grassy lands on which the airport is located are notorious for rabbits and hares, which can be seen by passengers at certain times of the day. The airport organises periodic hunts and captures to keep the population to manageable levels.