Paris Orly airport reopens with flight to Porto

Orly airport in Paris began operating Friday with the take-off of a flight to Porto, after a closure of almost three months due to the spread of the new coronavirus.

A low-cost Transavia aircraft took off at 06:25 (05:25 in Lisbon) becoming the first connection made at the airport in the south of the French capital since March 31.

To mark the first connection, the airport firemen sprayed the aircraft with water jets.

The management of air travel costs forced the authorities to concentrate flights from Paris on Charles de Gaulle airport in the city’s north.

The relaunch of air traffic will be slow and today only 70 connections are planned from Orly airport to European countries and the French overseas territories.

Before the pandemic began, the airport had 600 connections to the whole world.

To regain passengers’ confidence, signs have been installed to mark physical distancing, and disinfectant gel has been distributed to passengers whose temperature is measured.