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Why are Paris airports ranked among the worst in Europe?

The Local France
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Why are Paris airports ranked among the worst in Europe?
Paris Orly airport. Photo: AFP

Passengers are less than impressed with Paris airports Orly and Charles de Gaulle, ranking them among the worst in Europe. Why so many frequently unhappy flyers?

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Paris-Orly and Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, which represent 52.1 percent of all French air traffic, ranked near the bottom of the pack for European airports in a survey from consumer magazine UFC-Que Choisir.
 
The survey about big airports around the world was based on the responses of passengers from eight countries. 
 
The two international Paris airports ranked at 29th and 31st respectively out of 32 airports, gaining scores of 13.9 and 13.7 out of 20 possible marks.
 
Complaints from passengers included the poor quality of the bars and restaurants, the lack of comfort in the waiting areas, and the lack of seats and electrical plugs. 
 
The airports did score well, however, on the quality of departure boards. 
 
Paris Charles de Gaulle is no stranger to poor reviews. Online reviewers on airlineequality.com suggest it's an "abysmal excuse for an airport" that "requires immediate demolition." Harsh, perhaps, but these reviewers leaving terrible scores are far from alone.
 
"Be prepared to miss your flight, because that is the likely outcome of the complete and utter inefficiency and disorganization. Be prepared to have no one care whatsoever about your plight," wrote B Cohen from the US on airlinequality.com.
 
But things may be turning around. According to an annual survey from Skytrax, which quizzes 14 million passengers from 105 countries, CDG has soared 62 places from its dismal 95th out of 100 ranking three years ago. 
 
And initiatives to bump Paris-Orly's reputation up to first class include opening fine dining restaurants with top Michelin-starred French chefs Gilles Choukroun, Michel Rostang and Thierry Marx. 
 
Other French airports gained more respectable scores in the medium-sized airport category, with Toulouse-Blagnac leading the way at 9th, Nice-Côte d'Azur at 12th and Nantes-Atlantique at 13th. 
 
And what about the infamous Paris-Beauvais airport to the north of the capital, which Ryanair flyers know all too well.
 
Beauvais was ranked the worst in Europe in 2015 and among the worst in the world in 2013, in part due to the fact passengers soon realise it does deserve the word "Paris" in the name given how far it is from the French capital.
 
But UFC-Que Choisir gave Beauvais airport a special mention crediting the improvements that have been made there.
 
 
 
By Rose Trigg
 
 

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