Paris-Charles de Gaulle CDG Airport History and Facts
Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport CDG Airport History
Although work to find a suitable location for Paris’ new airport began in 1957, construction did not commence until ten years later in 1966. The airport’s inaugural flight took place in 1974 and since this time it has seen over 950 million passengers pass through its terminals.
Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport is owned by the group Aeroports de Pqaris, who also own Paris – Orly and Paris – Le Bourget airports. The airport is named after Charles de Gaulle (1890 - 1970), a French statesman and general who played a strong role in the establishment of the ‘Free French’ during WWII.
Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport CDG Interesting Statistics and Facts
CDG Airport Usage
- In Septemebr 2011, traffic for CDG Airport was 5,550,103 passengers for the month
- CDG airport hosts up to 1,350 aircraft movements per day
- the airport has four runways
- CDG airport is made up of a total of 3,260 hectares of airport surface area
CDG in Popular Culture
- The music video for pop-band U2's song Beautiful Day was filmed at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport
- the airport was first used in a film in 1974 when Terminal One was included in a scene from La Gifle - since its first movie appearance above, the airport has also featured in Hollywood films such as Frantic, Private Benjamin and Rush Hour 3
