France has regained its crown as the world’s most visited tourist destination. From climbing to the top of the Eiffel Tower to mingling with the rich and famous in St. Tropez, there are hundreds of reasons to visit France.
With so many people traveling to France right now, the French government is keen to ensure that people have a positive experience when traveling in the country’s airports.
In 2022 Tourism added 58 billion euros ($65 billion USD) to the French economy, accounting for 7.5% of its GDP. France relies on tourism, and the French government has realized that happy tourists are tourists that will keep coming back.
According to French Tourism Minister Olivia Gregoire, “First impressions are often the ones that stick, which is why the quality of the welcome people receive at French airports is so important.”
To make that great first impression, these are 3 reasons why flying to France is set to be easier than ever:
Faster Waiting And Processing Times
Queues in many French airports can be notoriously long, particularly in Paris region airports.
To help ease these queues, the French government is increasing the number of airport staff they employ considerably.
2,000 extra people will be employed to manage the lines, and an extra 520 border agents will be employed too. These extra agents will speed up passport checks with the sole aim of getting travelers through the airport more quickly.
If you’re flying into a Paris region airport, then you will also be able to use ‘smart gates’ for your passport checks. The French government has increased the number of these gates available this summer. They will be adding more before the summer of 2024.
Right now, these gates can only be used by EU passport holders, but the French government is also discussing allowing non-EU passport holders to use the automated passport gates. This would speed up the passport control process even more.
Finally, Paris-Orly and Lyon airports are currently trialing 3D baggage scanners. These scanners will remove the need to take liquids out of hand luggage to pass through airport security, streamlining the security processing time.
Easier Transfers To Paris
Paris is a city with two airports. Charles De Gaulle is the larger and most well-known of the two.
In fact, Charles De Gaulle Airport is the second busiest airport in Europe, and it is expected that when France hosts the Olympics next year, the accompanying increased footfall means it will take first place in that ranking.
To ease the burden on Charles De Gaulle Airport, the French authorities are encouraging more passengers to travel through Paris’ second airport of Orly.
With more flights in and out of Orly, the burden on Charles De Gaulle should be eased, and both airports will be better equipped to process their passengers as quickly and smoothly as possible.
Traveling via Orly will be a much more attractive proposition by Spring 2024, when Paris-Orly airport will finally be directly connected to central Paris by public transport. Metro line 14 is currently undergoing extension works, and these will open early next year.
Streamlined Complaints Procedures
No matter how hard the French government is trying, things can’t always go to plan. But France doesn’t want dissatisfied travelers leaving the country, so they are setting up 10 separate monitoring groups at each of France’s 10 largest airports.
The idea is that the more complaints in the country are being monitored, the more pressure there will be on airlines and airports in France to improve their standards. This new process will also include increased monitoring for lost bags.
Passengers from around the world will also be able to download a mobile phone app called ‘SignalConso’, which allows travelers to file complaints no matter where they are. This app has already been downloaded 100,000 times.
France is trying to shake off its reputation for surly customer service, and now flying into the country should be easier than ever.
