French government scraps plans for expansion of Charles de Gaulle airport
The French government has today scrapped plans for a major expansion at Charles de Gaulle airport due to climate change concerns.
According to an interview given by a French minister to Le Monde, the €9bn expansion was “no longer aligned with environmental policy”.
The development would have increased the capacity of Europe’s biggest airport by 40m passengers a year.
Charles de Gaulle overtook London Heathrow for passenger numbers last year.
However, the move throws open the chance for Heathrow to retake the crown – if its third runway gets built.
The controversial project got a major boost in December the UK Supreme Court overturned a decision to block plans for a third runway at Heathrow – a move that shocked many.
However, the project still faces administrative and legal hurdles, while the slump in travel due to Covid has seen many question the need for the project.
State owned operator Aeroports de Paris (ADP) has estimated that the project would create 50,000 jobs.
In a statement, the firm said that the decision to scrap the project was “one of the consequences of the Covid-19 crisis”.
It is not the only aviation body to have been forced to change its plans by the French government due to a combination of environmental and pandemic-related issues.
When ministers agreed to bail out flag carrier Air France in the summer, they forced the airline to cut its domestic schedules.
Airport expansions have come under increasing pressure in recent years as environmental concerns have become more prominent.