A photograph taken on June 24, 2020, shows boarding desks area at the Terminal 3 of the Orly ... [+]
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.
Earlier this month, the French government announced a controversial €15 billion ($16.85 billion) bailout plan for this sector. The goal, in part, is to encourage Air France to resume orders from Airbus. Environmentalists have criticized the measures for not doing enough to require the industry to address its carbon footprint.
Nevertheless, the plan does call for investment in environmentally-friendly alternatives such as electric and hydrogen planes. And the French government is going to press for the elimination of many short-haul flights.
Despite these steps, the re-opening of Orly will show just how tricky it will be for travelers to take to the skies.
The Orlyval, a rail shuttle that takes people for Paris to the airport, remains closed for now. Aéroports de Paris (ADP), which also manages Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, has placed 137 Plexiglas screens in front of ticket counters at Orly.
Throughout the airport, there are hand gel dispensers and thousands of stickers and signs to remind travelers to maintain a proper distance. For those arriving at Orly, they will pass by thermal cameras and could be forced to wait in a holding area if they trigger a warning.
