Transavia takes over: Air France leaves Paris Orly – with one exception

“Orly, it’s over,” Orly, it’s over, wrote the French newspaper Le Figaro. Because it ended between Air France and the airport in the south of Paris. The airline will pull out of Orly, as first reported by French media and angry politicians announced on X (formerly Twitter) – and as Air France has now also confirmed.

The airline departs the field at the smaller Paris airport for Air France-KLM’s Transavia subsidiary. All routes served by Air France at Paris Orly will then be transferred to the Charles de Gaulle hub. However, there will be one exception: connections to/from Corsica from Paris-Orly will continue to be offered.

Action by 2026

The move is expected to be completed by 2026. Air France cites the massive decline in domestic flights at Orly as the reason for the withdrawal. The airline reports that the number of flights has fallen by nearly 40 percent in the past four years. The reasons are the lack of professional travel and the increased shift to trains.

The company wants to provide the affected employees with similar jobs at Charles de Gaulle Airport, as the need for employees at the company’s largest airport will remain high even with the change in 2026. Employee representatives will soon be informed of the details and negotiations with the unions will begin.

Criticism of politics

Not everyone likes this step. So Eric Ciotti complains, for exampleThe head of the Republican Party said on the X website (formerly Twitter) that the decision was made without consulting the affected areas, which may lose flights. It is “shameful and scandalous.”