The first European Olympic Games since London 2012 is about to get underway. A dramatic Olympics opening ceremony is set to take place on Friday evening along the Seine in the heart of the French capital.
In an unprecedented move, all three Paris airports will be closed as a no-fly zone the size of Belgium is imposed across northern France during the ceremony.
On the ground, the UK Foreign Office is warning: “Until Friday 26 July, you will need a digital pass to travel to some areas of Paris because of preparations for the Olympic opening ceremony. Different rules will apply depending on whether you are travelling on foot, by bike, or by car or another vehicle.”
Yet once the Games begin in earnest on Saturday 27 July, last-minute visitors can cash in on bargains.
These are the key questions and answers about how travellers can enjoy the world’s greatest sporting tournament
How frenetic will it be ahead of the Games?
Reaching Paris before the opening ceremony is a race against time. The last flight to land on Friday is expected to be an Air France flight from Edinburgh to Charles de Gaulle airport, due to arrive at the gate at 5.10pm.
After that the skies will close until around midnight.
Almost all planes will be banned from a circle with a radius of 80 nautical miles centred on Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris from 6.30pm to midnight, local time.
Normally the final Friday of July would be one of the busiest days of the year for aviation, with 350,000 passengers passing through the giant Paris airports – Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Orly – as well as Beauvais, a key budget airline base north of the capital.
But only flights by military, customs, police, gendarmerie, civil security or emergency aircraft will be allowed in the area, along with “aircraft in charge of filming for the 2024 Olympic Games” and flights carrying dignitaries accredited by the French foreign ministry.”
What’s caused the closure?
The no-fly zone has been imposed due to fears of a terrorist attack. The French Civil Aviation Authority (known as DGAC) says: “A temporary prohibited area (ZIT Ceremonie) is created to ensure the implementation of the special air security arrangements as part of the protection of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games 2024.”
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