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After almost three years of closure, Paris Charles de Gaulle Terminal 1 has reopened following a 250 million Euros refurbishment.
Initially opened in 1974 by French architect Paul Andreu, the National Heritage concrete-centric Terminal building was revolutionary. It featured a central circular terminal with seven outlying satellites — departure lounges — with easy passenger access, making it an extremely efficient design concept.
Today, in keeping with the original vision, the nearly half-century-old infrastructure has been modernised and expanded with a 36,000 square metre junction building, including a 5,600 square metre boarding hall linking satellites 1, 2 and 3 and connecting to the central Terminal building.
New technology inside the central lobby includes 124 multi-airline check-in counters, 130 self-service kiosks and 90 automatic luggage drop-off points. Design features include marble flooring, digital signage, LED lighting and a simplification of border control and passenger queueing.
The international zone has one entrance, with all routes equipped with self-boarding gates. A new departure lounge offers Parisian-themed touches of days gone by with bistro-like brass accents and lights reminiscent of fireworks. Seating is provided with curved benches, elongated seats and personal areas with tables and modesty screens for working. Art will display throughout the terminal building, with exhibitions lasting between two and three years.
Airlines will begin returning operations to Terminal 1 from Terminal 2, with many leading carriers, including Lufthansa, SWISS, SAS, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Etihad, already transitioned, and a total of over 50 airlines expected to resume flights from Terminal 1 in the coming months.
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The reopening of Terminal 1 marks a significant end to pandemic restrictions at Paris-Charles de Gaulle. It comes at an exciting time for French travel, with the 2023 Rugby World Cup and 2024 Olympic Games hosted in the country.
Read the First-Class.com review of the Business Class Lounge at Paris-Charles de Gaulle
