While air transport has almost stopped since the start of the coronavirus crisis, the health crisis is actually impacting the entire economic ecosystem around Paris airports: Roissy and Orly.

In these two areas, usually rich in active population, companies are at a standstill and many job cuts are to be feared.

DECRYPTION

Around Roissy and Orly airports, a whole ecosystem has seized up since March.

While air transport has been in virtual hibernation since the start of the health crisis caused by the coronavirus epidemic, the two airports are naturally very affected, as is the economic fabric that surrounds them, in two vast territories of several hundred people. thousands of inhabitants.

Collapse in the number of thefts, shutdown of subcontractors, hotels and transport, threats to the survival of companies, there is no lack of reasons for concern. 

"A real cataclysm"

The strength of these two airports was the insolent increase in air traffic: + 3% year-on-year with, to support this growth, major modernization works which have just been completed at Orly, and the construction project of a fourth terminal at Roissy.

But suddenly, at the end of March, more planes.

And today, very few revolve, with barely 15% of normal traffic. 

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This collapse caused a shock wave far beyond the runways and hangars.

Around Roissy and Orly, we have two immense territories whose heart beats to the rhythm of airplane movements, and which host one of the largest working populations in Europe: 133,000 direct jobs, and more than double if indirect jobs are added.

"It's a real cataclysm, because when an airport stops, it's not just the planes that stop flying", confirms to Europe 1 Alain Aubry, mayor of Mesnil-Amelot, one of the seven municipalities which share the influence of Charles-de-Gaulle, and which also chairs the Roissy Dev development agency.

"For example, for Servair (which manufactures meals for Air-France), activity has stopped altogether. For upstream producers too. But it is also the hotels that are closed, all lounges, transport, taxis, VTCs which worked almost 24 hours a day ", he said again, before concluding:" And this is how our territory has been living since March. " 

SMEs at a standstill 

In the ecosystem of the two airports, there are large subcontractors, but also several tens of thousands of SMEs which have also taken the full brunt of the shock.

This is the case with SOS Bagages, based in Roissy.

The company, which repairs travelers' suitcases, employs 20 people.

But while usually at this time of year, the workshop is teeming with people (tourists, expatriates returning for the holidays, pilots and flight attendants), there is currently only one suitcase to repair.

Questioned by Europe 1, Mehdi Barka, the boss, draws up a worrying assessment.

"Before the Covid, we were at double-digit growth. Our turnover doubled, our workforce too. We made 200,000 euros per month," he says.

"Today, everything is at a standstill. We are doing about 20 times less. The whole team is almost on short-time work and the plans to open shops are stopped. Everything is broken!"

But Mehdi Barka remains optimistic and refuses to fire.

Because he is convinced: the recovery will be "phenomenal". 

Many jobs at risk 

But despite the optimism of some entrepreneurs, for their part, local elected officials are worried about the job destruction that looms.

The first jobs destroyed are temporary and fixed-term contracts (around 6,000 on both platforms).

There are also, at Charles-de-Gaulle, around ten thousand recruitments which were scheduled and which were stopped short.

Those, in particular, of a brand new hotel which had just opened, and which very quickly went out of business.

The fear now is permanent jobs.

On Wednesday, ADP announced that it had reached an agreement with the unions providing for 1,150 departures via a collective contractual termination.

Reductions are also in sight in the duty-free stores in Roissy and Orly: 120 jobs. 

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It could take years to get back to normal

Faced with this gloomy picture, economic players are scrutinizing the slightest signal that would make it possible to stop this spiral, like Augustin de Romanet, head of ADP. "There is a demand for travel that will be expressed at Christmas. The favorite destination is going to be the overseas departments," he says. "We are also anticipating a very sharp increase in Transavia traffic". And to conclude: "With that, we hope to increase to 35% of the usual traffic at Christmas." Still, the return to normal traffic will take many years ... 2024 at the earliest, specialists say. Unless the vaccine upsets all expectations.