On 5 December 2022, after several months of modernisation work at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Terminal 1 officially welcomed passengers again, following its closure on 30 March 2020 in response to the outbreak of Covid.

 

Its reopening was accompanied by the unveiling of a brand new nodal building and a new, passenger pathway, which fully embodies Groupe ADP’s quality of service and hospitality requirements, said the airport group.

 

The reopening forms part of the group’s 2025 Pioneers strategy, which again ‘focuses on service quality and hospitality’.

 

“This strategy is also the reflection of a brand new international passenger path, ending in a new boarding hall, facing the central body, of 5600sq m, offering travellers more space, comfort and a design reminiscent of the first great hours of the aeronautical adventure,” said the group.

 

“This reopening symbolically marks the end of the Covid-19 pandemic for the Paris airports,” said Augustin de Romanet, Chairman and CEO of Groupe ADP.

 

Groupe ADP announced a new retail and hospitality concept and brand, called Extime, in February this year. Find out more about Extime from the below video.

 

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“We decided to give new life to this almost fifty-year-old infrastructure by modernising the existing building, fully in line with the work of Paul Andreu. Terminal 1, still a pioneer, embodies the renewal of the welcome and hospitality at Paris airports, and in particular the best in design and culture that we wish to offer to our passengers,” added de Romanet.

 

 

In comments shared on Linkedin and subsequently with TRBusiness, Guy Bodescot, CEO Directeur Général Société de Distribution Aéroportuaire (SDA) Filiale Aéroports de Paris, and Lagardère Travel Retail, echoed the ADP CEO’s sentiments.

 

“This coming Christmas is not only marking an almost full recovery of our business after three years of crisis management due to Covid and the collapse of air travelling, but it’s also the epilogue of a 12-year retail restructuring at Paris Airports, creating more than 2,3000sq m of shopping facilities for all passengers with the grand reopening of the historical donut-shaped CDG Terminal 1.”

 

Bodescot applauded SDA’s ‘crew members’ for their resilience over the last three years, flagging that the company boasts 44 nationalities.

 

“2023 will see a new 10-year venture starting with a new name for our company Extime Paris Duty Free and a new mission ‘improve hospitality at Paris Airports and offer new digitalised services’.

 

“A new e-commerce site and a loyalty programme will be launched to support our abilities to serve all of you, dear future passengers at Paris Airports.”

 

A concept of Groupe ADP’s hospitality brand, Extime, the new departure lounge was conceived and imagined by two French designers, Maxime Liautard and Hugo Toro (see video above).

 

Terminal 1, which was designed in the late 1960s by French architect Paul Andreu, is an iconic project at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. It was opened on 8 March 1974 and was the first terminal of this new airport based 22km from Paris. Watch the video below to learn more about its history.

 

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Based on Ernest Hemingway’s short stories, A Moveable Feast, the design offers passengers several iconic elements of Parisian life: historic posts, lights reminiscent of fireworks, brass in reference to the legs of the counters and tables of Parisian bars.

 

On the hospitality side, the seating areas are a combination of straight and curved benches, elongated seats, and work areas characterised by modesty screens behind the benches, tables and seats.