As a result of the drop in demand, Orly airport, Paris’ secondary hub, was forced to close its terminal 4 from February 15, 2021. The final straw was the closure of French borders to passengers from outside the European Union from January 31, 2021.
It is the second terminal the airport has closed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent crisis for air transport. Terminal 1 was closed on November 11, 2020. The airport activity is now limited to terminals 2 and 3.
In 2020, Roissy-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Paris’ main airport, received 70.8% fewer passengers than in 2019, while Orly Airport (ORY) suffered a drop of 66.1%, as reported by their operator, Aéroports de Paris (ADP).
In early February 2021, the French government canceled the project to build a new terminal, T4 in Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport, citing environmental issues and air traffic being brought down. A new expansion project should be submitted by ADP, which is expected to follow environmental guidelines given by the authorities.