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Mass flight disruption at French airports today April 25
Around 3,000 flights are set to be affected despite strike action being called off. A three-day strike notice for May remains in place
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BREAKING: Thursday's air strike in France called off, disruption still expected
Disruption is still expected at a number of airports. The union has also not rescinded its strike notice for three days in May
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Many French flights set to be cancelled due to air traffic strike
Thursday’s 24-hour protest is expected to be one of the largest walkouts in the profession
Many smaller French airports struggling to recover post Covid
Some however are bucking the trend. Airport body also claims over-regulation and taxation risk making French airports generally uncompetitive
France’s airports’ body, the Union des Aéroports Français, has voiced concerns over the future of France’s airports in a recent press conference.
It claims that over-regulation of the sector, rules discouraging domestic flights to boost use of trains, and a new tax on larger airports are a burden at a time when airports are struggling to recover post-Covid.
Airports also need major renovations to become greener and will need to be attractive to private investors, said Union des Aéroports Français at a recent press conference.
In addition to raising the alarm over the new European Entry/Exit System, due to start on November 6 this year, the body highlighted several issues that impact French airports and air travel.
Read more: Prepare for border changes to start November 6, French airports told
Passenger numbers have yet to bounce back post-Covid
Passenger numbers in metropolitan French airports are still down 7.6% compared to pre-Covid in 2019, though up 14.4% from 2022 to 2023.
In Paris, Orly (+1.4%) is doing better than Charles de Gaulle (-11.5%), as the latter relies more on long-haul flights, which have been slower to recover.
However, Marseille is up 6.4% and Paris-Beauvais is up 41.6% due to new low-cost services.
In Brittany, Rennes and Brest in Brittany have been struggling, with passengers down 30.2% and 34.4% compared to 2019, as have Pau (-43%), Toulon (-39.2%), Clermont-Ferrand (-46.5%) and Metz (-61.2%).
A drop in demand for domestic flights (see below) was said to be part of the problem for Breton airports, however Rennes is reportedly seeking to compensate with new international services, including serving Dublin.
Smaller airports struggling the most
Local airports with fewer than one million passengers a year are performing the worst compared to 2019, down 17.1% in passenger numbers on average.
Some have been bucking the trend, however, such as Tarbes (+26.5%), Perpignan (6.8%) and Nîmes (+9.2%).
Several regional councils, including Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine, are reportedly reviewing the use of small airports, which were subject to critical reports by state auditors last year concerning their reliance on low-cost airlines and state aid.
It is possible that some airports with close neighbouring sites might have to reduce commercial flights and increase alternatives, such as flight training, UAF said.
Dependence on low-cost airlines
Low-cost services now represent 43.2% of France’s air traffic, compared to 35.1% in 2019.
Regional airports are especially dependent on these, with several, such as Nantes, Béziers, Tours, Limoges, Poitiers, Toulon, Perpignan and Carcassonne, relying almost entirely on them.
Government encouraging train use
Domestic flights are down, linked to French policies encouraging use of the train instead of the plane for these, for ecological reasons.
UAF preducts, however, that air travel will remain popular for long inter-regional trips, where train journeys can be impractical.
New liquid and electronics scanners on the way
New scanners called EDS cabine will be deployed from 2026-27 to remove the need to take liquids and electronic equipment out of hand luggage at security checks.
Diversifying into energy generation
Airports are seeking to become ‘energy hubs’ in the next few years, supplying renewable energy in their areas, for example, from solar panels.
This will including some smaller airports with significant landholdings, such as Deauville.
Read more: Spotlight on losses and low travel numbers at small French airports
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