France has not been as badly hit as many other countries by the financial crisis and neither has its business aviation community, according to the French chapter of the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA). While acknowledging that the overall economic situation remains critical, EBAA France’s honorary chairman, Olivier de l’Estoile, told AIN that the organization is glad to be able to celebrate the 50th anniversary of business aviation at Paris Le Bourget Airport on April 19. It was at the French capital’s bizav gateway that a small EBAA committee met just over 10 years ago to launch the EBACE show.
There is little doubt that market conditions are as tough as they have been for many years for the 90 member companies of EBAA France. But there are positive signs, such as the gradual recovery, since last October, in traffic levels at Le Bourget. The Paris business aviation airport remains the only profitable facility in the Aéroports de Paris group, which also runs the French capital’s Charles de Gaulle Roissy and Orly airports.
