Airlines accused of deliberately violating curfew at Orly

This summer, airlines have increased violations of curfew rules at French airports, in particular at Paris-Orly, the scene of “deliberate breaches”, the independent authority controlling these nuisances accused on Thursday. “We have noted a very strong increase in overflow flights”, beyond the start of the curfew, in force on several airport platforms including the Ile-de-France airports, or in violation of company commitments, the president told AFP. from the Airport Nuisance Control Authority (Acnusa), Gilles Leblanc.

These airliners late and landing in the middle of the night, this "obviously causes an increase in local tensions" and protests from local residents' associations and political leaders, he warned. This problem is, according to Gilles Leblanc, due to flight programs that are too ambitious and have no margin for error: the model of low-cost airlines consists of having their aircraft fly all day, chaining rotations, and any delay is reflected up to at the end of the day.

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At Orly, subject to curfew from 11:30 p.m., late planes can request exemptions from the General Directorate of Civil Aviation to land after this limit. If they do not obtain it, they divert to Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle (CDG), where the curfew is at 12:30 a.m., but it also happens that they land after the fateful hour. And the next day, “they leave Roissy first thing in the morning for a 10-minute flight in order to reposition themselves at Orly,” said Gilles Leblanc, denouncing a “disastrous health, environmental and climatic record.” In July alone, CDG saw “113 arrivals in presumption of breach” – the fault not being characterized until the case was judged –, 50 of whom were diverted from Orly.

Some companies have even enforced a curfew at Orly, an offense which can cost them up to 40,000 euros in fines but which is not necessarily dissuasive according to Mr. Leblanc. In Nantes too the situation is “very problematic”: “We have already received 183 prosecution files” for alleged violation of the curfew since the start of the year, compared to “210 last year for the entire year,” he revealed. And if companies tend to place the responsibility for these delays on air traffic control - indeed in a tense situation in Europe - Gilles Leblanc believes, in view of the cases investigated, that they are mainly due to "disorganization" carriers.