Charles de Gaulle airport, which opened in 1974, is the second busiest airport in Europe after London Heathrow
PARIS, Feb 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) —The French government has abandoned plans to build a huge new terminal at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.
The coronavirus pandemic and changing environmental priorities were the reasons given for the move.
A fourth terminal would have allowed the airport to handle up to 40 million extra passengers a year.
France has radically changed its transport priorities, with airport developments now requiring plans for electric or hydrogen-fuelled planes.
Ecology Minister Barbara Pompili told Le Monde newspaper that the project was now “obsolete”.
“We will always need planes, but we must move towards a more reasonable use of air travel, and reach a reduction in the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions,” she said.
Julien Bayou, head of France’s Green Party, said it was “a great victory for environmentalists” against what he called “an idiotic project”.
Charles de Gaulle airport, which opened in 1974, is the second busiest airport in Europe after London Heathrow, with more than 76 million passengers passing through in 2019. — NNN-AGENCIES
