On 12 March, Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport celebrated its 40th anniversary marking the milestone of 1.3bn passengers served by its four runways, nine terminals, and the 100,000 people who work there each day.

 

Aéroports de Paris builds, develops and manages airports, including Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Orly and Paris-Le Bourget. In 2013, Aéroports de Paris handled more than 90 million passengers in Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly, 2.2 million tons of freight and mail in Paris and 43m passengers in airports abroad.

 

Boasting an ‘exceptional geographic location’ and ‘a major catchment area’, the Group is pursuing its strategy of adapting and modernising its terminal facilities and upgrading quality of services; the Group also intends to develop its retail and real estate businesses. In 2013, Group revenue stood at €2,754 million and net income at €305m

 

In October of last year, TRBusiness reported that two additional BuY Paris Duty Free multi-brand stores (developed by Lagardère Services) are opening at the hub, adding a further 1,200sq m of retail space exclusively for perfumes, cosmetics, wines and spirits, tobacco products and fine foods.

 

BuY Paris Duty Free store at Paris CDG.

 

CDG ‘MUST REMAIN EUROPEAN BENCHMARK’

“This is a big moment for Aéroports de Paris, for Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, and for all the employees who work there each day,” said Augustin de Romanet, Chairman and CEO of Aéroports de Paris.

 

“In four decades, we have served more passengers at this airport than the number of people living in India in 2012, or nearly 20 times the population of France.

 

“The airport constitutes a vital tool for the French business community and an asset for our country. We must move it towards ever more quality of service. In a world of heightened competition between major airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle must remain the European benchmark.”

 

Paris-Charles de Gaulle was Europe’s second busiest airport in 2013 with 62 million passengers, and ranked eighth worldwide.

 

‘A GREAT ADVENTURE’

“In 40 years, Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport [pictured left] has been able to anticipate, adapt, and innovate to accommodate growth in global air traffic,” added Franck Goldnadel, Managing Director of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport.

 

“It is France’s main gateway and border crossing: a position that we are honoured to occupy, as it contributes to the country’s growth in economic terms, tourism, and the attractiveness of France as a destination. It’s also been a great adventure in human terms for the wonderful airport community, whose primary mission is to serve our passenger customers.”

 

According to research carried out by BIPE in 2012, the economic impact of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport in 2010 amounted to €21.2bn of value added each year. Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport also produced 4.1% of the Ile-de-France region’s GDP, or 1.2% of French GDP, in 2010.