28 May 2024: With the upcoming Olympic games being held in Paris this summer, EUROCONTROL, in conjunction with the French air traffic provider DSNA, recently held a preparation meeting to discuss the upcoming Olympics and the impact on air traffic control, airport and airspace availability. The meeting focused in particular on the opening ceremony on 26 July which will see all movements into Paris airports being restricted, and a significant portion of airspace in Northern France being unavailable for flight planning.

Whilst security measures are in place for both the Olympics (22 July-11 August) and Paralympics (26 August-8 September), and special co-ordination procedures are in place at Paris airports from mid-July through to mid-September, the main impact for airlines will be on 26 July for the opening ceremony which will see a 6km long parade along the Siene with an expected 300,000 spectators lining the route.

A prohibited area of with a radius of 80nm from ground to unlimited flight level will in place, with major impacts to all Paris airports where no arriving or departing traffic will be allowed for a 6 hour period, with a risk of further impact on other French airports.

Airlines should be aware that during this period, normal curfew procedures will remain in place across airports in France.

Aeronautical publications relating to the Olympics are as follows:

• AIP SUP 095/24 - special prohibited (ZIT) areas during opening ceremony
• AIP SUP 096/24 - special air security device during Olympic games
• AIC 006/2024 - airport co-ordination
• AIC 007/2024 - air security constraints.

The presentation from the meeting including a detailed impact assessment can be found here [1]. (Note this is locked for members only). This includes rerouting options for overflights, the expected route extensions, and the impact on neighbouring States.

In case of questions, members should contact nick.rhodes@eraa.org [2]