Before the opening of CDG in 1974, Orly was the main airport of Paris. Even with the shift of most international traffic to CDG, Orly remains the busiest French airport for domestic traffic and the second busiest French airport overall in passenger traffic, with 33,123,027 passengers in 2024.
Originally known asVilleneuve-Orly Airport, the facility was opened in the southern suburbs of Paris in 1932 as a secondary airport toLe Bourget. Before this two hugeairship hangars had been built there by the engineerEugène Freyssinet from 1923 on.[citation needed]
As a result of theBattle of France in 1940, Orly Airport was used by the occupying GermanLuftwaffe as a combat airfield, stationing various fighter and bomber units at the airport throughout the occupation.[10] Consequently, Orly was repeatedly attacked by theRoyal Air Force andUnited States Army Air Forces (USAAF), destroying much of its infrastructure, and leaving its runways with numerous bomb craters to limit its usefulness to the Germans.[citation needed]
After theBattle of Normandy and the retreat of German forces from the Paris area in August 1944, Orly was partially repaired by USAAF combat engineers and was used byNinth Air Force as tactical airfield A-47. The50th Fighter Group flewP-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber aircraft from the airport until September, then liaison squadrons used the airfield until October 1945.[11]
The USAAF diagram from March 1947 shows the 6,140-foot (1,870 m) 27/207 (degrees magnetic) runway (later 03R) with 5,170-foot (1,580 m) 81/261 runway (later 08L) crossing it at its north end. The November 1953 Aeradio diagram shows four concrete runways, all 197 feet (60 m) wide: 03L 7,874 ft (2,400 m), 03R 6,069 ft (1,850 m), 08L 5,118 ft (1,560 m) and 08R 6,627 ft (2,020 m).[citation needed]
The AmericanUnited States Army Air Forces 1408th Army Air Force Base Unit was the primary operator at Orly Field until March 1947 when control was returned to the French Government. (TheUnited States Air Force leased a small portion of the Airport to supportSupreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) atRocquencourt). The Americans left in 1967 as a result of France's withdrawal from NATO's integrated military command, and all non-French NATO forces were asked to leave France.[12]
A development project voted in 2012 planned to merge the airport's south and west terminals with the construction of an 80,000-square-metre (860,000 sq ft) building to create one great terminal.[13] On 14 April 2016, theGroupe ADP rolled out theConnect 2020 corporate strategy and the commercial brandParis Aéroport was applied to all Parisian airports, including the Orly airport.[14]
On 7 November 2015, the failure of a two-decade-oldWindows 3.1 system which was responsible for communicating visual range information infoggy weather to pilots caused a temporary cease of operations. Whether the failure was hardware- or software-based is not specified, though the highlighting of the operating system suggests a software failure.[15]
As part of theCOVID-19 pandemic and itsimpact on aviation, the airport was closed to all commercial traffic from 1 April 2020 to 25 June 2020.[16][17] During this period, commercial traffic and flights were relocated toCharles de Gaulle Airport, while Orly was still used for State flights, emergency diversions, and medical evacuations.
Paris Aéroport reported in 2023 that a tree-planting project in the vicinity of the airport, along the route of theroute nationale 7, was being undertaken. The scheme involved planting 900 tree species and 14,000 forest seedlings. Paris Aéroport anticipates capturing 329 tonnes ofcarbon per year through the planting.[18]
In October 2023, it was announced that Air France will largely cease using Orly Airport by summer 2026, with only onepublic service obligation flight toCorsica to remain.[19][20]
Known as theWest Terminal until March 2019, these two terminals consist of two floors and a gate area of four "fingers" rather than a brick-style layout. The ground level 0 features the arrivals facilities including eight baggage reclaim belts as well as several service facilities and shops. The departures area is located on level 1 with more stores and restaurants located here. This central departures area is connected to three gate areas split between Orly 1 (A and B gates) and Orly 2 (C gates).[21] 23 stands at this terminal are equipped with jet-bridges, with several of them also able to handle wide-body aircraft.[22]
Inaugurated in April 2019, Terminal 3 is a junction building between Terminals 1, 2 and 4. The terminal allows customers to travel between all areas of the airport under one roof. It includes around 5,000 m2 (54,000 sq ft) of duty-free shopping along with several restaurants and lounges. It houses gates D and E, with direct access to Orly 4 departure gates.[23]
Formerly known as theSouth Terminal this innovative 1961steel-and-glass terminal building consists of six floors. While the smaller basement level −1 as well as the upper levels 2, 3 and 4 contain only some service facilities, restaurants and office space, level 0 features the arrivals facilities as well as several shops and service counters. The airside area and departure gates are located on the upper level 1. The waiting area, which features several shops as well, houses gates E and F.[21] 15 of the terminal's departure gates are equipped with jet-bridges, some of which are able to handle wide-body aircraft.[22]
Orlyval people mover line that connects two stations at Orly terminals (Orly 1, 2, 3 station andOrly 4 station) withAntony station, served by theRER B line. Passengers can also transfer to Tramway T7 at Orly 4 station. Orlyval is free to use between the two stations at Orly; however a premium fare is charged between Antony and Orly Airport (the suburb ofAntony is about 5 km from the airport).
On 20 September 1952, aUSAFDouglas C-47 Skytrain on final approach to ORY struck a telephone pole, rooftops and crashed and caught fire 1 km (0.6 mi) from ORY. Three of the four occupants on board died.[135]
On 27 November 1953, aUSAFFairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar crashed 4 km (2.5 mi) NE of ORY on approach, crashing in flames in the Cholsy-le-Roy neighborhood of Paris. The cause was the rear clam shell doors broke off striking the horizontal stabilizer, causing a catastrophic failure of the empennage. All six occupants were killed.[136]
On 24 November 1956,Alitalia Flight 451, aDouglas DC-6 crashed 0.6 km (0.4 mi) W of ORY moments after takeoff, some 10–15 seconds later altitude was lost and the DC-6 struck a house 600 m past the runway end. All 10 crew and 34 of the 35 passengers were killed. Cause unknown.[137]
On 21 January 1957, aSNCASE Armagnac crashed attempting to land at night withinstrument landing system monitored by GCA. One crewmember and one passenger out of the 70 on board died.[138]
On 19 May 1960, anAir AlgérieSud Aviation Caravelle collided with aStampe SV.4 biplane on final approach about 8 miles SE of Orly. Despite suffering substantial damage, the Caravelle landed safely at Orly with only one fatality but the Stampe biplane crashed, killing the pilot.[139]
On 3 June 1962,Air France Flight 007, a charteredBoeing 707 named theChateau de Sully bound forAtlanta,US, crashed on take-off with 132 people on board; 130 of them were killed. The only survivors were two flight attendants seated in the rear of the plane. The charter flight was carrying home Atlanta's civic and cultural leaders of the day. At the time, this was the highest recorded death toll for an incident involving a single aircraft.
On 11 July 1973,Varig Flight 820, a Boeing 707, made a forced landing due to fire in a rear lavatory, incoming fromRio de Janeiro–Galeão. The aircraft landed 5 kilometers short of the runway, in a full-flap and gear down configuration. Due mainly to smoke inhalation, there were 123 deaths whilst 11 people survived (10 crew, one passenger).[140][141]
On 20 October 2022, Amelia International Flight 8R1217, anEmbraer ERJ 145, suffered damage after skidding off the runway 25 whilst landing during a storm by night. None of the 42 people on board were injured.[142]
On 30 September 1977, anAir InterSud Aviation Caravelle was hijacked by a man armed with a pistol and a hand grenade and returned to Orly Airport. After about eight hours police marksman fired tear gas grenades and stormed the plane. The hijacker lobbed a hand grenade toward the cockpit, killing one passenger. A shot was fired and the hijacker was arrested.[citation needed]
On 20 May 1978, three terrorists armed with submachine gunsopened fire at the El Al boarding gate, killing five and injuring five.[citation needed]
^Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
^McAuliffe, Jerome J. (2005). US Air Force in France 1950–1967. San Diego, California: Milspec Press, Chapter 14, Paris-USAF Operations.ISBN978-0-9770371-1-7.
^"Résultat de votre recherche." Le Journal officiel électronique authentifié. Retrieved on 15 May 2010. "Siège social : compagnie Air Lib, bâtiment 363, zone centrale à l’aéroport d’Orly, 91550 Paray-Vieille-Poste."
^"Découvrir Air Liberté." Air Liberté. 23 February 2002. Retrieved on 15 May 2010. "Le 22 Septembre 2001, AOM et AIR LIBERTE ont donné naissance à une nouvelle compagnie aérienne qui porte désormais le nom AIR LIB."
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "No céu de Paris".O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 285–290.ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
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