“The airports will be in good condition, there are no problems to fear,” reassures the CEO of ADP

Paris airports will be ready to receive “64,000 accredited people” and “10,000 athletes who will arrive in a few days and leave in a few days,” according to Augustin de Romanet.

“The airports will be in good condition and there are no problems to fear” during the Olympic Games, wanted to reassure Augustin de Romanet, CEO of Aéroports de Paris, on Franceinfo on Wednesday, April 24. Travelers will be able to take the flight normally, even on August 12 and 13, which will be “a very significant peak” since most of the performers planned to leave Paris at that time.

“We have planned a specific boarding lounge dedicated to athletes, with 12,000 square meters,” to allow “to process both passengers and baggage, regardless of the flow of other passengers”, explained Augustin de Romanet. Globally, “traffic volume will be roughly equivalent” to a normal summer. “What will be very special is that we will have 64,000 accredited people, 10,000 athletes arriving in a few days and leaving in a few days with exceptional baggage”he emphasized.

An additional cost of 50 million euros

While recruiting security agents to monitor the Olympics is a real challenge, the CEO of ADP was reassuring: “We have been waiting for a year, learned from the experience of London, we will have the necessary numbers for the Games.”

The additional cost for Paris airports of expenses related to the Olympic Games is estimated “at around 50 million” euros, he indicated. “It will be a legacy these expenses are not lost funds,” he assured. “One of the very important legacies of the Olympic Games will be better reception of the disabled,” he said as an example.

Medical evacuations by flying taxi

Volocopter flying taxis promised for the Paris Games will also be present: “The probability is very, very high”. On the other hand, they will most likely not be able to take on clients, since “The European Air Certification Authority may not authorize paying passengers, but on the other hand we hope that we will be able to take experimental passengers over Paris, and have the first flight over the world of electric vehicles for vertical take-off.”, he explained. Medical evacuations “will be made much easier with this type of machine”.

Finally, the Ile-de-France sky will be silent during the opening ceremony: “For 6 hours there will be no aircraft over Île-de-France within 80 kilometers around that will be able to fly over the country.”