Air France landed its final flight at Orly airport in Paris on Saturday, as it focuses its services on the French capital’s main Charles de Gaulle airport.
The move away from the southern airport – announced back in 2023 – ends an 80-year relationship Air France has had with Orly, where it ran mostly domestic and short-haul flights.
The airline said it was responding to declining passenger demand, with increased video-conferencing and reduced domestic business travel – both accelerated during the Covid pandemic – and a shift in France towards train journeys.
The airline told AFP that the last flight would be an air shuttle arriving on Saturday night from the southern French city of Nice.
The only services left with Air France livery at Orly are flights to and from the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, which fulfil a public service role.
Air France’s budget subsidiary Transavia will also remain at Orly.
Groupe ADP, the state-controlled operator of Paris’s airport, said in February passenger volumes last year had essentially returned to levels seen before Covid.
