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Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (IATA: CDG, ICAO: LFPG) (French: Aéroport Paris-Charles de Gaulle), also known as Roissy Airport (or just Roissy in French), in the Paris area, is one of the world's principal aviation centres, as well as France's main airport. It is named after Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970), leader of the Free French Forces and founder of the French Fifth Republic. It is located within portions of several communes, 25 km (16 mi)[1] to the north-east of Paris. The airport serves as the principal hub for Air France. In 2008, the airport handled 60,851,998 passengers[3] and 559,812 aircraft movements[2], making it the world's fifth busiest airport in terms of passengers and Europe's busiest (world's fifth busiest) airport in terms of aircraft movements. In terms of cargo traffic, the airport is the busiest in Europe and the sixth busiest in the world, having handled 2,280,049 metric tonnes of cargo[4].
[edit] LocationCharles de Gaulle Airport extends over 32.38 km2 (12.50 sq mi) of land. The choice of this vast area was made based on the limited number of potential relocations and expropriations and the possibility to further expand the airport in the future. It straddles three départements and six communes:
Management of the airport is solely under the authority of Aéroports de Paris, which also manages Orly, Le Bourget, Marsa Alam in Egypt and several smaller airports in the suburbs of Paris. [edit] History   The planning and construction phase of what was known then as Aéroport de Paris Nord (Paris North Airport) began in 1966. On 8 March 1974 the airport, renamed Charles de Gaulle Airport, began service. Terminal 1 was built to an avant-garde design of a ten-floor high circular building surrounded by seven satellite buildings each with four gates. The main architect was Paul Andreu, who was also in charge of the extensions during the following decades. The grassy lands on which the airport is located are notorious for rabbits and hares, which can be seen by airplane passengers at certain times of the day. The airport organises periodic hunts and captures to keep the population to manageable levels.[5] [edit] Corporate identityThe Frutiger typeface was commissioned for use in the airport and implemented on signs throughout the building in 1975. Initially called Roissy, it was renamed for its designer Adrian Frutiger. Until 2005, every P.A. announcement made at Terminal 1 was preceded by a distinctive chime, nicknamed "Indicatif Roissy" and composed by Bernard Parmegiani in 1971. The chime can be heard in the Roman Polanski film Frantic. Although the chime was officially replaced by the "Indicatif ADP" chime in late 2005 there has recently been unconfirmed reports that Indicatif Roissy has since occasionally returned. [edit] Collapse of Terminal 2ETerminal 2E, with a daring design and wide open spaces, was CDG's newest addition. On 23 May 2004, not long after its inauguration, a portion of Terminal 2E's ceiling collapsed early in the day, near Gate E50, killing four people.[6] Two of the dead were reported to be Chinese citizens and another Czech. Three other people were injured in the collapse. Terminal 2E had been inaugurated in 2003 after some delays in construction and was designed by Paul Andreu. Administrative and judicial enquiries were started. Andreu also designed Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport, which collapsed while under construction on 28 September 2004. Before this accident, ADP had been planning for a public stock offering in 2005 with the new terminal as a major attraction for investors. The partial collapse and indefinite closing of the terminal just before the beginning of summer seriously hurt the airport's business plan. In February 2005, the results from the administrative inquiry were published. The experts pointed out that there was no single fault, but rather a number of causes for the collapse, in a design that had little margin for safety. The enquiry found the concrete vaulted roof was not resilient enough and had been pierced by metallic pillars and some openings weakened the structure. Sources close to the enquiry also disclosed that the whole building chain had worked as close to the limits as possible, so as to reduce costs. Paul Andreu denounced the building companies for having not correctly prepared the reinforced concrete. On 17 March 2005, ADP decided to tear down and rebuild the whole part of Terminal 2E (the "jetty") of which a section had collapsed, at a cost of approximately €100 million.[7] The reconstruction will replace the innovative concrete tube style of the jetty with a more traditional steel and glass structure. During reconstruction, two temporary departure lounges have been constructed in the vicinity of the terminal that replicate the capacity of 2E before the collapse. The terminal reopened completely on 30 March 2008. [edit] Terminals The Airport has three terminals. Terminal 1[8] is the oldest. Terminal 2[9] was originally built exclusively for Air France, since then it had been expanded significantly and now also hosts other airlines. The third terminal (T3, formerly T9) hosts charter and low cost airlines. Terminal 1 has a single main building for check-in and baggage reclaim with 7 satellites for arrivals and departures. Each satellite can handle about 5 aircraft at any given time. Underground walkways with moving sidewalks connect the satellites to the main building. Terminal 1 was built to an avant-garde design which is maintained today even though interior sections of the building have been renovated and modernised. The RER station for Terminal 1,[10] Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 1, is at a distance from Terminal 1 must be reached using the free CDGVAL automatic light rail system (Véhicule Automatique Léger (VAL); previously, shuttle buses were used. Terminal 2 today consists of multiple terminals joined together by ground-level or below ground passageways. The seven terminals consist of 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F and the separate 2G. Terminal 2G is located 2.5 km (1.6 mi) away from the terminals 2A-2F and a bus ride is needed for transfer. Terminal 2 also has an RER and TGV station, Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 – TGV, below the common area linking halls 2C-2F. Terminal 3 has a single hall. It is located 1 km (0.62 mi) from Terminal 1, but the walking path is 3 km (1.9 mi) long. The RER and CDGVAL trains are at a distance of 300 m (980 ft) on foot. The CDGVAL is a light-rail shuttle that links the terminals, railway station and parking lots. Started on 4 April 2007, the CDGVAL links all the three terminals (except hall 2G), although there is only a single station for Terminal 2, near the rail station, so the walk distance to the more distant halls 2A-2B is more than 500 m (1,600 ft) (and both CDGVAL and bus is needed to reach 2G from Terminal 1).  [edit] Expansion plans 2007-2012Apart from the reconstruction of Terminal 2E, two major terminal extensions are underway as of 2008. The completion of 750 m (2,500 ft) long Satellite 3 (or S3) to the immediate east of Terminals 2E and 2F provides further jetways for large capacity airliners, specifically the Airbus A380. Check-in and baggage handling are provided by the existing infrastructure in Terminals 2E and 2F. Satellite 3 was opened in part on 27 June 2007 and fully operational in September 2007. A similar in size and scope Satellite 4 is planned to open in 2012 to provide additional capacity.[11] Construction began on a new terminal building, Terminal 2G, to the east of the S3 construction site in September 2006 with the first stone of the new building itself laid in March 2007. This terminal was in operation in March 2009. It is connected to the Terminal 2 complex by shuttle buses and eventually an extension of the CDGVAL shuttle train service. 2G is used for passengers flying in the Schengen Area (and thus has no passport control) and handles Air France regional and European traffic and provides small capacity planes (up to 150 passengers) with a faster turn-around time than is currently possible by enabling them to park close to the new terminal building and boarding passengers primarily by bus, or walk on the ground. Its bus connection is outside the security area and a security check is needed also for transfer passengers. At least 20 minutes must be planned as time when getting from another terminal to the 2G departure area. Future use of Terminal 2 by Air France constantly evolves thanks to the development and opening of the S3 complex and the new 2G section of Terminal 2. On 30 March 2008, the reopening of Terminal 2E was completed allowing maximum passenger activity and full airport services. Air France operations are now concentrated at Terminals 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F and 2G and it has ceased operating from Terminals 2A and 2B. Terminal 3 is not directly connected to the others, and there is a more than five-minute walk from the tram station. [edit] Airlines and destinations 
[edit] Cargo airlines
[edit] Ground transport[edit] RailSee also: Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV CDG is connected to Paris, as well as the rest of France and Europe by both the RER, Paris' suburban rail network, and the TGV high-speed national rail network. [edit] RERCDG airport is connected to Paris by the RER B suburban route. Normally there are two types of services: 4 times per hour to Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse calling at all stations to Cité Universitaire, then Bourg-la-Reine, La Croix de Berny, Antony, Massy – Palaiseau and then all stations to Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse and 4 times per hour to Massy – Palaiseau (on the Saint-Rémy line), first stop Gare du Nord and then all stations to Massy – Palaiseau. The fast services take about 30 minutes to the Gare du Nord, the stopping services about 35. There are two RER B stations inside the airport:
RER B both serves CDG airport (with a travelling clientele) as well as northern suburbs of Paris. The line, operated by SNCF, suffers from slowness and saturation. For these reasons, French authorities have started two projects: one, CDG Express[12] (opening between 2012 and 2015), will link CDG to Paris Gare de l'Est with trains specifically designed for air travellers; the other, RER B Nord Plus,[13] will modernise and streamline the northern branches of RER B. [edit] TGVTerminal 2 includes a TGV station on the LGV Interconnexion Est high-speed line. SNCF operates direct TGV services to several French stations from CDG, including Le Havre, Angers, Avignon, Bordeaux, Dijon, Grenoble, Le Mans, Lille, Arras, Lyon, Marseilles, Montpellier, Nantes, Nîmes, Poitiers, Angoulême, Rennes, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Tours and Valence. [edit] BusRoissybus, operated by RATP, departs from terminals 1 and 2 and goes non-stop to Paris, behind the Palais Garnier. There is a bus and coach station in Roissypôle, next to the RER B station. Buses departing from this station include RATP lines 350 and 351 going to Paris and the bus going to the Parc Astérix. [edit] Alternative airportsThe three other airports serving Paris are Orly Airport, the most important after CDG; Paris Beauvais Tillé Airport, which mainly serves low-cost airlines; and Le Bourget Airport for general aviation (business jets). [edit] Accidents and incidents
Other accidents and incidents involving CDG include:
[edit] Trivia
[edit] Mehran Karimi NasseriOn 26 August 1988, Mehran Karimi Nasseri found himself held at Charles de Gaulle airport by immigration. He claimed he was a refugee, but had had his refugee papers stolen. After years of bureaucratic wrangling, it was concluded that Nasseri had entered the airport legally and could not be expelled from its walls; but since he had no papers, there was no country to deport him to either, leaving him in residential limbo. Nasseri continued to live within the confines of the airport until 2006, even though French authorities had since made it possible for him to leave if he so wished.[14] He was the possible inspiration for the 2004 film The Terminal. In July 2006 he was hospitalised and later taken care of by charities; he did not return to the airport. [edit] Appearances in films and other works
[edit] Photography restrictionsOn 7 November 2005, prefectoral decision 05-4979 was issued, relating specifically to Charles de Gaulle airport. The law prohibits photographs being taken for private use of anything moving (e.g. aircraft) or not moving (e.g. buildings) within the "zone reservée" (the restricted area) from the "zone publique" (the public area). Thus, for example, one is prohibited from taking pictures from the glassed-in jetways while boarding or debarking; however, it is OK to take pictures inside one's aircraft or terminal. [edit] See also[edit] Notes and references
[edit] External links
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