France’s plan to make airports more welcoming for travellers

With the Olympic Games approaching and France regaining its crown as the world's most-visited tourist destination, the French government has released plans to improve the quality of the country's airports for passengers.

Published: 17 July 2023 17:09 CEST

France's plan to make airports more welcoming for travellers

A French customs officer surveys luggage at Orly Airport, south of Paris (Photo by Geoffroy Van der Hasselt / AFP)

With a little over a year until the 2024 Paris Olympic Games – during which 10 million people are predicted to visit Paris – the French government has announced a total of 21 measures to help ensure that people have a positive experience when travelling via French airports.

The minister for tourism, Olivia Grégoire, explained to Le Figaro that the government has commissioned this plan because “first impressions are often the ones that stick, which is why the quality of the welcome people receive at French airports is so important”.

In particular, two aspects stand out in the plan; speeding up waiting times and processing areas via new technology and improving the system for complaints and customer feedback.

Grégoire told Le Parisien that France is expecting passenger numbers at French airports in 2023 to reach 95 percent of that which was seen prior to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019.

The government also expects more passengers to travel through Paris’ second airport of Orly.

Speeding up queues

In order to help manage long queues at Paris region airports, the ADP (Aéroports de Paris) will “provide 2,000 extra people to help with long lines”, according to Grégoire. Additionally, the interior ministry will provide an extra 520 border agents to speed up passport checks.

On top of the extra staff, the French airports of Paris-Orly and Lyon will continue testing 3D baggage scanners that remove the need to take out liquids and put them into a plastic bag throughout the year 2023.

Several European countries have also announced the end of the 100ml liquids rule after successful tests of the scanners.

Paris region airports will also increase the number of ‘smart’ gates for passport checks, and has discussed allowing non-EU passport holders from certain countries including the UK to use the automated passport gates.

Transport minister Clément Beaune said that dozens more of these have been added to Paris region airports since the start of July, and that the current number stands at 122. The goal will be to put into practice 170 smart gates by the summer of 2024, an increase of 34 percent from the number available as of summer 2023.

Tracking complaints and monitoring airlines

The plan will set up 10 separate monitoring groups at each of France’s top 10 largest airports. France’s civil aviation authority will keep tack of passenger complaints, by company and by airport, in an effort to create new metrics that rank airlines and airports in regard to quality offered.

The criteria focused on will be things like flight delays and cancellations. There will also be increased monitoring for lost bags.

“The pressure will force everyone to improve”, Beaune told Le Figaro.

Passengers will also be able to download the mobile phone app ‘SignalConso’, which previously existed in website form. It allows consumers to file complaints or alert the government when fraudulent activity has happened. In its previous iteration, this was more focused on consumer experiences at shops or internet purchases, but now it has expanded to several areas including transport.

The minister for tourism told Le Figaro that “the app is already a success (…) it has been downloaded over 100,000 times in the past month and a half”.

Other improvements

Paris-Orly airport will be better linked to the city of Paris in spring 2024, when the extension of Metro line 14 is expected to open to the public.

The ministers’ plan also discussed an information campaign so that passengers are more aware of their rights in the event of cancellation or delays.

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“Canua Island”, a 1,750 square-metre motorised platform boasting a restaurant, bar lounge and freshwater swimming pool, was inaugurated on Thursday night off Mandelieu-La Napoule on the Cote d’Azur in southeastern France.

The two-storey platform set on a trimaran and anchored 600 metres from the seafront can accommodate up to 350 people.

Opponents of the €16-million project have denounced it as “an ecological aberration”.

Environmental groups have long battled for increased protection for sea life and the coastline of the highly developed Cote d’Azur, long considered a playground for the rich and famous.

The owners were denied permits to operate last year, but they took the case to court and were granted an authorisation to launch the project.

The project had initial support from just one local commune, Mandelieu-La Napoule, but was contested by the head of the broader Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur region, Renaud Muselier, a member of President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling party.

On Friday, around 20 mayors, including those of Nice and Toulon, signed a letter denouncing “this commercial exploitation of the marine environment”.

But the owners stress that the project is safe, with the engines running on biofuel, a desalination system producing freshwater and all waste being recycled on land.

Due to the controversy, the floating beach will not be open to the public this season.

Based at La Seyne-sur-Mer, near Toulon, it will be available for private events such as weddings on the Cote d’Azur. The owners have already received around 30 booking requests.

The actual beaches of France are public spaces owned by the state, although hotels and other leisure groups can rent some of the beach space to create ‘private’ beaches where guests must pay for a sun lounger or umbrella.