Air France celebrates 80 years of connectivity between Manchester and Paris | News

Air France is proud to celebrate 80 years of service between Manchester Airport and Paris, marking eighty years of connectivity between the North West of England and France.
Air France’s first flight to Manchester took place on June 16, 1946, on a Dakota aircraft
F-BADX arrived from Paris Le Bourget Airport. The historic service dropped off one passenger that day and picked up a VIP party of 18 for the return trip. Shortly afterwards, Air France began operating the route three times a week.

Today, Air France operates up to four daily flights between Manchester and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, giving customers seamless access to the airline’s extensive global network of nearly 170 destinations in 83 countries.
The route is currently operated by the Airbus A220-300, which offers a 20% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to previous generation aircraft, while reducing the noise footprint by 34%. The modern five-abreast cabin layout also ensures that 80% of customers benefit from a window or aisle seat.
Recent booking data highlights Manchester’s continued importance within Air France’s international network.
– Besides France, Canada, Mauritius, Nigeria, Peru and the United States are the most popular countries booked by customers traveling from Manchester.
– At the same time, passengers using the Air France service travel to Manchester from France, Brazil, Canada, China, Nigeria and the United States, to name a few.
Jerome Salemi, General Manager Air France-KLM UK & Ireland, said:
“Manchester has been part of the Air France story for eighty decades and today remains one of our key regional gateways in Great Britain. Over the years the route has continually evolved in line with customer demand, whether for business trips, holidays or visits to friends and family. We are proud to continue to connect the North West to our global network through Paris Charles de Gaulle.”
Stephen Turner, Chief Commercial Officer at Manchester Airport, added: “We are proud to connect the North with the world, and our long-standing partnership with Air France has played a central role in almost the entire history of the airport. It is great to be able to celebrate 80 years of that partnership today – a partnership that continues to connect thousands of people from our region to Paris and beyond every week.”