Air France to Move Domestic Flights from Paris Orly to Charles de Gaulle Airport from 2026

Air France recently announced plans to move all its domestic operations out of Paris Orly to Paris Charles De Gaulle International Airport from 2026.

The reasons for this move, according to the airline, is due to a structural fall in demand on its domestic point-to-point network due to the rise of videoconferencing, which has led to the drop in domestic business travel, and the growing shift toward rail (under the combined effect of government sobriety recommendations and corporate CSR policies).

According to Air France, traffic on domestic routes out of Paris-Orly between 2019 and 2023 fell by 40 percent, and even by 60 percent for day return trips.

Until 2026, Air France will continue serving Toulouse, Marseille and Nice, as well as the French overseas territories, including Pointe-à-Pitre, Fort-de-France and Saint-Denis de La Réunion, from Paris-Orly

Photo source: Paris Aéroport – Orly (ORY)

As the adaptation process moves forward, Air France would bolster the number of flights from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to the aforementioned destinations, “thus facilitating international connections and strengthening the connectivity of the French regions and overseas territories”.

The only exception will be flights from/to Corsica out of Paris-Orly due to Air France’s joint bid with Air Corsica for the renewal of a Public Service Order (PSO) from 2024.

Transavia, Air France’s low-cost subsidiary, will become the Group’s reference operator from Paris-Orly and continue operating flights from the airport after 2026. This, according to Air France, is due to Transavia’s growing fleet of new Airbus A320neo family aircraft that offer a 15% reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, as well as a 50% reduction of the noise footprint.

Air France said the Group’s capacity between Paris and Toulouse, Marseille and Nice will be maintained at 90 percent of its current level, and at 100 percent for routes between Paris and the French overseas territories.

Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. Photo source: Paris Aéroport

“The initiative as a whole would help Air France maintain a strong brand presence in all the markets it serves, and be more responsive to rapidly changing travel demand,” said Air France. “It would optimize the use of each airline’s resources, make the offer clearer for customers and improve Air France’s competitiveness.”

Moreover, Air France said the plan will have a limited impact on jobs at affected domestic airports and forced dismissals will be avoided.

“A process of information and consultation with employee representative bodies will begin very shortly, along with negotiations with representative trade unions, in order to define the best way to support all employees affected by these changes,” Air France said.