The Government will reconsider the Terminal 4 project at Paris-CDG Airport according to Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari who said that the corona virus pandemic is a significant contribution to the change of plans. The T4 project was started in response to the growth of worldwide traffic and the associated need to upgrade the quality of service at the hub airport. The development would include construction of buildings, taxiways, roads, and internal rail services to the airport. The airport operator Groupe ADP said that capacity of T4 had been projected to be in the range of 35 to 40 million travellers each year by 2030. Environmental activists and local communities were already against the project. However, the impact of the global health crisis is another deterrent. Passenger numbers have plummeted, and it is expected to take several years for the industry to recover. Therefore, the hub’s advancement is not as urgent as before and a EUR 9 billion project to receive 40 million more passengers by 2030 is probably no longer justified as it was planned.
Nonetheless, Minister Djebbari said that French airports would still need investment for upgrades and would have to make sure that new aircraft types, such as hydrogen-powered aircraft can land. He added that he has talked about the issue several times with ADP CEO Augustin de Romanet. Djebbari said the pandemic had cut traffic at French airports to about 40% of pre-crisis activity, and domestic routes are busier than long-haul. Traffic is returning slowly, and his team is still waiting until September 2020 to see if business passengers return. At that time, there will be clues to see how the activity will pan out for the remainder of the year and 2020. #1126.27
* Augustin de Romanet, Chairman and CEO of Aéroports de Paris SA – Groupe ADP, commented the current situation, saying:: "Over the first half of the year, Groupe ADP traffic fell by 57.5%, with a total of 48.2 million passengers, and that of the Paris airports by 62.2%, with 19.8 million passengers. The months of April and May saw almost no traffic and the recovery in traffic was slow in June and July. The entirety of the Group's activities were strongly affected from March 2020 onwards: consolidated revenue fell by 46.5% over the first half of the year to EUR 1,168 million. EBITDA remained positive at EUR 39 million thanks to the first effects of an optimization plan introduced throughout the Group. Net result attributable to the Group stood at –EUR 543 million, due in particular to significant depreciations abroad and in the retail and services sectors impacted by the crisis. In this context, the priority of the Group was to ensure the safety of its employees and customers. It has thus played a key role in managing the health crisis. Groupe ADP has succeeded to stabilize its financial situation. Moreover, the Group has concluded the acquisition of a stake in the Indian airport group GMR Airports, in downward revised conditions to take into account the pandemic impact, paving the way to a new industrial partnership which will be a growth driver for the future.
This is the first time in 50 years that air traffic has experienced a downturn this abrupt and it is established that the recovery will be very gradual: a return to the 2019 traffic level in Paris is anticipated between 2024 and 2027. This crisis brings structural economic effects on air transport with a persistent public health threat. In this new operational and financial environment, Groupe ADP is going to review its strategic orientations in order to provide the company with the capacity to return to profitable and sustainable growth.” #1126.28
