The airline now plans to operate all domestic and international services from Paris/Charles de Gaulle, the only exception being a Public Service Obligation (PSO) flight to the island of Corsica, operated in co-operation with Air Corsica.
As part of the plan, the airline will cut capacity between Paris and Toulouse, Marseille and Nice to 90% of the current levels. These routes will then be served by its low-cost subsidiary – Transavia – subject to consultation with the relevant bodies. Meanwhile, capacity on routes between the French capital and French overseas territories will continue at current levels.
The airline said: “The rise of video conferencing, the drop in domestic business travel, and the growing shift toward rail [under the combined effect of government sobriety recommendations and corporate CSR policies] are leading to a structural fall in demand on Air France’s domestic point-to-point network.” It added that between 2019 and 2023, its traffic on domestic routes from Orly had fallen by 40% and 60% for return day trips.
Air France added that the impact on employee roles based at its regional airports of Toulouse, Marseille, and Nice would be limited and managed via voluntary transfers and departures. Flight crews located at these bases will be retained. Meanwhile, staff at Orly will be able to transfer to Charles de Gaulle.
