Orly in 2035: fewer cars, “moderate” increase in passenger traffic

Already engaged in a process of decarbonization of its ground operations by 2030, the platform is preparing to experience additional upheavals, explained its manager, Groupe ADP.

The company, majority owned by the State, will launch three months of consultation on these projects on Monday, in particular with residents of neighboring towns benefiting from the economic benefits of Orly but who may also be subject to its nuisances.

The idea is first of all to reduce the "recurring" congestion of the access roads to the second French airport by number of passengers, located in a very densely populated area to the south of Paris. Today, no less than 70% of passengers and 90% of employees arrive there by private vehicle.

“We plan to double the share of passengers accessing the airport by public transport and to quadruple that of employees” by the middle of the next decade, explained the manager.

ADP wants to capitalize on the planned arrival in June of the extension of metro line 14, offering a direct link with the center of Paris - the arrival of line 18 and the extension of Tramway 7 are also planned within five years -, but also to keep automobile flows at bay with the creation of four new parking lots and drop-off points at the airport entrances, where it will be possible to check in and drop off your luggage.

The end of the journey will be carried out by a “clean collective transport system”, which will also serve the commercial and industrial areas of the platform.

Certain car parks near the current terminals will be reserved for “priority audiences”, such as disabled people, and others are intended to be destroyed, the total number of spaces remaining stable at 15.000.

As for taxis and VTCs, discussions will open with their representative organizations to “define the traffic rules” to which they will be subject.

Other major works in perspective are the creation of a new boarding lounge, an outgrowth of Terminal 2 and equipped with six footbridges, which will replace as many stations currently served by bus, a source of frustration for travelers.

All these developments, which also include low-carbon energy installations and the development of land to attract businesses or training centers, will be carried out within the framework of a "moderate increase" in passenger traffic in an airport where the number of takeoffs and landings is capped and a curfew is imposed between 23:30 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

“The challenge (...) is no longer to manage growth at Orly, it is to manage decarbonization,” summarized the CEO of Groupe ADP, Augustin de Romanet.

His group certainly forecasts 2035% more passengers in 16 than the 32,3 million in 2023, but a "stabilization" of the number of movements, at 229.000 - the result of larger and better filled planes -, while promising lower emissions. noise levels reduced by 6 decibels between 22:00 p.m. and 23:30 p.m. thanks to less noisy devices.