Expansion to Nice airport approved by courts: completion expected in 2026
Upgrades will bring annual capacity up to 18 million
The airport is France’s third busiest and plans to further increase annual capacity
Dan Costa/Shutterstock
A planned expansion to Nice airport can go ahead after a court reinstated its building permit and dismissed an appeal from environmental groups seeking to halt the works.
The Marseille Administrative Court made its definitive ruling on September 18, validating the permis de construire handed to airport executives by the local Alpes-Maritimes prefecture in 2020.
The renovations to Terminal 2 – including a new check-in area and boarding lounges – are now set to be completed in 2026, and will increase the annual capacity of France’s third-busiest airport to 18 million.
Permit first given in 2020
The original building permit for the expansion was given to airport authorities in January 2020, however an appeal from environmental groups was soon lodged.
Rejected by the local courts in Nice, it was escalated and reached the regional Marseille court in December 2022 where it was debated for a year.
The environmental groups argued that the expansion could bring up to 30,000 additional flights to the airport, increasing annual pollution by 25% in an area seen
For their part, airport authorities argued that despite a record high of 14.9 million passengers in 2024 – surpassing the previous 2019 record – airport emissions had dropped by 2%, as better scheduling reduced the number of flights from the airport.
In December 2023, the Marseille court required a new assessment of the expansion to be undertaken alongside a public inquiry for the works, although works were allowed to partially continue.
In February this year, a commission approved the expansion – although stipulated regular environmental checks should be carried out – but the final decision of the court had yet to be given.
The approval of the commission and the update inquiry was determined an adequate reason for the court to reinstate the permit.
“The court finds that the defect based on the inadequacy of the project's impact study on the environment and human health has been corrected and dismisses the application,” said the Marseille court in its report on the ruling.
The airport has also recently been in the news after two planes nearly collided on a runway.
