Leading airports by passenger numbers in France 2014-2017

Charles de Gaulle airport, located in the northeast of Paris, has been France’s leading airport for decades. In 2017, the airport welcomed more than 64 million passengers, making it the third most popular airport in Europe, just behind London Heathrow airport and the Airport of Frankfurt.

Charles de Gaulle airport: the entrance of one of the most visited regions in the world

Paris Charles de Gaulle was by far the biggest airport in France with almost 35 million passengers more than the second most popular airport, Orly airport. The airport appears to be the main entrance door to France, which is one of the most visited country in the world. Paris region attracted the majority of tourists in the country, which could explain the leading position of Parisian airports in France. Consequently, summer months seem to be a busy time for French airports and particularly for Paris Charles de Gaulle. It appears that the flux of passengers going through Charles de Gaulle airport peaks during the months of July and August.

French airports: Paris vs the rest

In 2016, Orly airport, located in the southern part of the French capital, welcomed more than twice the number of passengers than France’s third airport: Nice Côte d’Azur airport. In 2016, Paris airports accounted for more than 55 percent of the air passenger traffic in metropolitan France. The rest of the passenger traffic in the country was divided between other French airports, with Nice accounting for 16 percent of the air traffic outside Paris area.