Orly Airport
Encyclopedia
Paris-Orly Airport is an airport
located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi
, 7 NM south of Paris
, France
. It has flights to cities in Europe
, the Middle East
, Africa
, the Caribbean
, North America
and Southeast Asia
. Prior to the construction of Charles de Gaulle Airport, Orly was the main airport of Paris. Even with the shift of most international traffic to Charles de Gaulle Airport, Orly remains the busiest French airport for domestic traffic and the second busiest French airport overall in terms of passenger boardings with 25,204,000 in 2010.
Orly Airport extends over 15.3 square kilometres (5.9 sq mi) of land. It straddles two départements and seven communes:
Management of the airport, however, is solely under the authority of Aéroports de Paris
, which also manages Charles de Gaulle Airport, Le Bourget Airport
, and several smaller airports in the suburbs of Paris.
had its head office in Orly Airport Building 363 in Paray-Vieille-Poste
. After AOM and Air Liberté
merged in 2001, the new airline, Air Lib, occupied building 363.
Orly Airport is connected to the A106 autoroute (extension of the A6 autoroute).
Rail
Buses to Paris include:
. Before this two huge airship hangar
s had been built there by the famous engineer Eugène Freyssinet
from 1923 on.
in 1940, Orly Airport was used by the occupying German Luftwaffe
as a combat airfield, stationing various fighter and bomber units at the airport throughout the occupation. As a result, Orly was repeatedly attacked by the Royal Air Force
and United States Army Air Force (USAAF), destroying much of its infrastructure, and leaving its runways with numerous bomb craters to limit its usefulness by the Germans.
After the Battle 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 by Ninth Air Force
as tactical airfield A-47. The 50th Fighter Group flew P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber aircraft from the airport until September, then liaison squadrons used the airfield until October 1945.
The American United States Army Air Force 1408th Army Air Force Base Unit was the primary operator at Orly Field until March 1947 when control was returned to the French Government. (The United States Air Force
leased a small portion of the Airport to support Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
(SHAPE) at Rocquencourt
). 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.
named the Chateau de Sully, bound for Atlanta, U.S.
, crashed on take off with 132 people on board; 130 of them were killed. The only survivors were two stewardesses 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 from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão. The aircraft landed 5 kilometers short of the runway, in a full-flap and gear down configuration. However, due mainly to smoke inhalation, there were 123 deaths. Eleven people survived (10 crew, 1 passenger).
On 3 March 1974, Turkish Airlines Flight 981
, otherwise known as the Ermenonville air disaster crashed in the Ermenonville
forest after take-off from Orly on a flight to London
's Heathrow Airport when an improperly closed cargo door burst open and explosive decompression
brought down the McDonnell Douglas DC-10
and killed all 346 on board.
On 13 January 1975, several men, including Ilich Ramírez Sánchez AKA Carlos the Jackal
, made an unsuccessful Rocket-Propelled Grenade attack on an El Al
airliner. The Boeing 707
was taking off for New York City
with 136 passengers. They missed the aircraft, but damaged a JAT
McDonnell Douglas DC-9
which had just disembarked passengers from Zagreb
. The men tried again on 19 January, again without success when police spotted the terrorists and opened fire with a submachine gun.
On 20 May 1978, three terrorists opened fire on El Al
passengers in the departure lounge. All three terrorists were killed, along with one policeman and three French tourists were also injured.
On 15 July 1983, the Armenian underground organisation ASALA
bombed a Turkish airline counter
in the airport, killing eight people and wounding over 50. The ASALA member Varoujan Garabedian
was convicted to life imprisonment
for perpetrating the bombing.
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi
Villeneuve-le-Roi
Villeneuve-le-Roi is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Paris-Orly Airport is partially located in the commune.-Twin towns:...
, 7 NM south of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It has flights to cities in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. Prior to the construction of Charles de Gaulle Airport, Orly was the main airport of Paris. Even with the shift of most international traffic to Charles de Gaulle Airport, Orly remains the busiest French airport for domestic traffic and the second busiest French airport overall in terms of passenger boardings with 25,204,000 in 2010.
Orly Airport extends over 15.3 square kilometres (5.9 sq mi) of land. It straddles two départements and seven communes:
- EssonneEssonneEssonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River.It was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments.- History :...
département: communes of Paray-Vieille-PosteParay-Vieille-PosteParay-Vieille-Poste is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Paris-Orly Airport is partially located in the commune.Inhabitants of Paray-Vieille-Poste are known as Paraysiens.-History:...
(West Terminal and half of South Terminal), WissousWissousWissous is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Paris-Orly Airport is partially located in the commune.Inhabitants of Wissous are known as Wissoussiens.-History:...
, Athis-MonsAthis-MonsAthis-Mons is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Inhabitants are called Athégiens.A small part of Orly International Airport lies on the territory of the commune of Athis-Mons.-History:...
, Chilly-MazarinChilly-MazarinChilly-Mazarin is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.A small part of Orly International Airport lies on the territory of the commune of Chilly-Mazarin....
, and MorangisMorangis, EssonneMorangis is a commune in the Essonne department in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 18 kilometres from the center of Paris. A portion of Paris Orly Airport is in Morangis.Inhabitants of Morangis are known as Morangissois.-Transport:... - Val-de-MarneVal-de-MarneVal-de-Marne is a French department, named after the Marne River, located in the Île-de-France region. The department is situated to the southeast of the city of Paris.- Geography :...
département: communes of Villeneuve-le-RoiVilleneuve-le-RoiVilleneuve-le-Roi is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Paris-Orly Airport is partially located in the commune.-Twin towns:...
and OrlyOrlyOrly is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.The name of Orly came from Latin Aureliacum, "the villa of Aurelius"....
(half of South Terminal)
Management of the airport, however, is solely under the authority of Aéroports de Paris
Aéroports de Paris
Aéroports de Paris or ADP is the airport authority that owns and manages the fourteen civil airports and airfields in the Île-de-France area. Among its notable airports are Charles de Gaulle International Airport, Orly Airport and Le Bourget Airport...
, which also manages Charles de Gaulle Airport, Le Bourget Airport
Le Bourget Airport
Paris – Le Bourget Airport is an airport located in Le Bourget, Bonneuil-en-France, and Dugny, north-northeast of Paris, France. It is now used only for general aviation as well as air shows...
, and several smaller airports in the suburbs of Paris.
Terminals, airlines and destinations
Orly Airport has two terminals: West and South.Other facilities
AOM French AirlinesAOM French Airlines
AOM French Airlines was the second largest airline in France from 1990 until 2001. Its head office was located in Building 363 at Orly Airport, Paray-Vieille-Poste.-History:...
had its head office in Orly Airport Building 363 in Paray-Vieille-Poste
Paray-Vieille-Poste
Paray-Vieille-Poste is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Paris-Orly Airport is partially located in the commune.Inhabitants of Paray-Vieille-Poste are known as Paraysiens.-History:...
. After AOM and Air Liberté
Air Liberté
Air Liberté was an airline in France founded in July 1987. Air Liberté was headquartered in Rungis. Airlib was headquartered in Orly Airport Building 363 in Paray-Vieille-Poste....
merged in 2001, the new airline, Air Lib, occupied building 363.
Transportation
RoadOrly Airport is connected to the A106 autoroute (extension of the A6 autoroute).
Rail
- Orly Airport is connected to the RER BRER BThe RER B is one of the five lines in the RER rapid transit system serving :Paris, France.The line runs from the northern termini Aéroport Charles de Gaulle and Mitry-Claye to the southern termini Robinson and Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse ....
train line at Antony (Paris RER)Antony (Paris RER)Antony is a station of the Paris RER. It is named after the city of Antony, Hauts-de-Seine where the station is located. The station allows the transfer from the RER B to Orlyval, a small automatic light rail line which runs a shuttle service to Orly Airport.-History:* 1937: Station built as part...
train station by the OrlyvalOrlyvalOrlyval is a small automatic metro which runs a shuttle service to Paris's Orly Airport from the RER network, with which it connects at Antony station on line RER B.It was opened on 2 October 1991, the second line to use the VAL automatic metro....
automatic shuttle. Orlyval is free to use between the two Orly terminals (west and south). - A shuttle connects Orly Airport to the RER CRER CThe RER C is one of the five lines in the RER rapid transit system serving :Paris, France. It is operated by SNCF.The line runs from the northwestern terminuses Pontoise , Versailles – Rive Gauche and Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to the southeastern terminuses Massy-Palaiseau , Dourdan-la-Forêt , ...
train at Pont de Rungis – Aéroport d'OrlyPont de Rungis – Aéroport d'Orly (Paris RER)Pont de Rungis – Aéroport d'Orly is an RER station situated in Thiais, in the départment of Val-de-Marne. The station is served by RER C trains. For Paris-Orly Airport, there are ADP shuttle buses to West and South terminal of the airport....
. - Tramway T7 is planned to open in 2013 and will connect the south terminal to Villejuif – Louis AragonVillejuif – Louis Aragon (Paris Metro)Villejuif – Louis Aragon is a station of the Paris Métro, located in the commune of Villejuif. It is the terminus station on the south branch of Line 7. It serves the commune of Villejuif...
on Paris Métro Line 7Paris Metro Line 7Paris Métro Line 7 is one of sixteen lines of the Paris Métro system. Crossing the capital from its north-eastern to south-eastern sections via a moderately curved path, it links La Courneuve – 8 Mai 1945 in the north with Mairie d'Ivry and Villejuif – Louis Aragon in the south, while passing...
(already reachable with bus 285Bus (RATP)RATP operates the majority of buses in Paris, and a significant number of lines in its suburbs. Other suburban lines are operated by private operators grouped in a consortium known as Optile ....
).
Buses to Paris include:
- the Air FranceAir FranceAir France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
coaches (Cars Air France) - the RATP Orlybus (direct to Denfert-RochereauPlace Denfert-RochereauPlace Denfert-Rochereau, previously known as Place d'Enfer, is a public square located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, France, in the Montparnasse district, at the intersection of the boulevards Raspail, Arago, and Saint-Jacques, and the avenues René Coty, Général Leclerc, and , as well as the...
)
History
Originally known as Villeneuve-Orly Airport, the facility was opened in the southern suburbs of Paris in 1932 as a secondary airport to Le BourgetLe Bourget Airport
Paris – Le Bourget Airport is an airport located in Le Bourget, Bonneuil-en-France, and Dugny, north-northeast of Paris, France. It is now used only for general aviation as well as air shows...
. Before this two huge airship hangar
Airship hangar
Airships are sheltered in airship hangars during construction and sometimes also for regular operation, particularly at bad weather conditions. Rigid airships always needed to be based in airship hangars because weathering was a serious risk.- History :...
s had been built there by the famous engineer Eugène Freyssinet
Eugène Freyssinet
Eugène Freyssinet was a French structural and civil engineer. He was the major pioneer of prestressed concrete.Freyssinet was born in at Objat, Corrèze, France. He worked in the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris, France where he designed several bridges until the First World War...
from 1923 on.
Military use
As a result of the Battle of FranceBattle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
in 1940, Orly Airport was used by the occupying German Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
as a combat airfield, stationing various fighter and bomber units at the airport throughout the occupation. As a result, Orly was repeatedly attacked by the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
and United States Army Air Force (USAAF), destroying much of its infrastructure, and leaving its runways with numerous bomb craters to limit its usefulness by the Germans.
After the Battle 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 by Ninth Air Force
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
as tactical airfield A-47. The 50th Fighter Group flew P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber aircraft from the airport until September, then liaison squadrons used the airfield until October 1945.
The American United States Army Air Force 1408th Army Air Force Base Unit was the primary operator at Orly Field until March 1947 when control was returned to the French Government. (The United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
leased a small portion of the Airport to support Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe is the central command of NATO military forces. It is located at Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons...
(SHAPE) at Rocquencourt
Rocquencourt
Rocquencourt is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.It is mostly known for:* hosting a research unit of INRIA ;...
). 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.
Incidents, accidents and attacks
On 3 June 1962, Air France Flight F-BHSM, a chartered Boeing 707Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
named the Chateau de Sully, bound for Atlanta, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, crashed on take off with 132 people on board; 130 of them were killed. The only survivors were two stewardesses 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
Varig Flight 820
Varig Flight 820 was a scheduled airline service from Galeão Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Orly Airport, Paris, France. On 11 July 1973, the Boeing 707 made an emergency landing in a field in the Orly commune due to smoke in the cabin...
, a Boeing 707, made a forced landing due to fire in a rear lavatory, incoming from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão. The aircraft landed 5 kilometers short of the runway, in a full-flap and gear down configuration. However, due mainly to smoke inhalation, there were 123 deaths. Eleven people survived (10 crew, 1 passenger).
On 3 March 1974, Turkish Airlines Flight 981
Turkish Airlines Flight 981
Turkish Airlines Flight 981 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, registered TC-JAV and named the Ankara, that crashed in Fontaine-Chaalis, Oise, France, outside Senlis, on 3 March 1974...
, otherwise known as the Ermenonville air disaster crashed in the Ermenonville
Ermenonville
Ermenonville is a small village in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.Ermenonville is notable for its park named for Jean-Jacques Rousseau by René Louis de Girardin...
forest after take-off from Orly on a flight to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Heathrow Airport when an improperly closed cargo door burst open and explosive decompression
Explosive decompression
Uncontrolled decompression refers to an unplanned drop in the pressure of a sealed system, such as an aircraft cabin and typically results from human error, material fatigue, engineering failure or impact causing a pressure vessel to vent into its lower-pressure surroundings or fail to pressurize...
brought down the McDonnell Douglas DC-10
McDonnell Douglas DC-10
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine widebody jet airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 has range for medium- to long-haul flights, capable of carrying a maximum 380 passengers. Its most distinguishing feature is the two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a...
and killed all 346 on board.
On 13 January 1975, several men, including Ilich Ramírez Sánchez AKA Carlos the Jackal
Carlos the Jackal
Ilich Ramírez Sánchez , better known as Carlos the Jackal, is a Venezuelan pro-Palestinian currently serving a life sentence in France for shooting to death two French secret agents and a Lebanese informer in 1975....
, made an unsuccessful Rocket-Propelled Grenade attack on an El Al
El Al
El Al Israel Airlines Ltd , trading as El Al , is the flag carrier of Israel. It operates scheduled domestic and international services and cargo flights to Europe, North America, Africa and the Far East from its main base in Ben Gurion International Airport...
airliner. The Boeing 707
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
was taking off for New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with 136 passengers. They missed the aircraft, but damaged a JAT
Jat Airways
Jat Airways is the national airline of Serbia and the former national airline of Yugoslavia, and has its head office in the Jat Airways Business Center in Belgrade. It was established in 1927 as Aeroput, making it currently one of the world's oldest airlines still in operation...
McDonnell Douglas DC-9
McDonnell Douglas DC-9
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is a twin-engine, single-aisle jet airliner. It was first manufactured in 1965 with its maiden flight later that year. The DC-9 was designed for frequent, short flights. The final DC-9 was delivered in October 1982.The DC-9 was followed in subsequent modified forms by...
which had just disembarked passengers from Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
. The men tried again on 19 January, again without success when police spotted the terrorists and opened fire with a submachine gun.
On 20 May 1978, three terrorists opened fire on El Al
El Al
El Al Israel Airlines Ltd , trading as El Al , is the flag carrier of Israel. It operates scheduled domestic and international services and cargo flights to Europe, North America, Africa and the Far East from its main base in Ben Gurion International Airport...
passengers in the departure lounge. All three terrorists were killed, along with one policeman and three French tourists were also injured.
On 15 July 1983, the Armenian underground organisation ASALA
Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia
The Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia or ASALA was an Armenian nationalist militant organization, that operated from 1975 to 1986. The group also operated under other names such as The Orly Group and the 3 October Organization...
bombed a Turkish airline counter
Orly airport attack
The Orly Airport attack was the 15 July 1983 bombing of a Turkish Airlines check-in counter at Orly Airport in Paris, France, by the Armenian militant organization ASALA as part of its campaign for the recognition of and reparations for the Armenian Genocide...
in the airport, killing eight people and wounding over 50. The ASALA member Varoujan Garabedian
Varoujan Garabedian
Varoujan Garabedian is a former member of Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia .He was born in 1954 in Kamishli, Syria, into a family of Armenian refugees from the Armenian Genocide....
was convicted to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
for perpetrating the bombing.
External links
- Aéroports de Paris (official site)
- Aéroport de Paris-Orly (Union des Aéroports Français)