The opening of S3, the new boarding satellite at terminal 2E of Charles de Gaulle (CDG) provides travellers another reason to consider the European gateway vital to their travel arrangements.
“This is the first phase in the airline and its SkyTeam alliance partners’ plan to build the hub of the future,” said Jean-Cyril Spinetta, chairman and CEO of Air France KLM at the facility’s launch last month.
The new boarding complex will “guarantee optimum service” for passengers with its wide range of new facilities. Among the features are a new l’Espace Affaires lounge covering 2,600sqm with a seating capacity of 700 passengers, 18 new security checkpoints for premium travellers and a large new mall featuring a wide range of retail outlets and services.
The S3 will be linked to terminal 2E by the automated train service LISA. The 45-second journey will help ease the transfer process to other terminals and satellites, with trains running every two minutes.
Also, from January 2008, the pedestrian travelator will link the new satellite with terminal 2F.
Several other innovations are scheduled to be introduced. These include enhanced gate-readers at the boarding gates to speed up the boarding process and new self-service kiosks that will allow passengers to perform a range of tasks like changing their flights, printing out boarding passes and accessing updated information regarding their flight.
Designed to handle up to 8.5 million passengers annually, S3 is dedicated to Air France and its SkyTeam alliance members. It also aims to help boost the number of gate-parked flights from the current 52 percent to 70 percent, thereby increasing convenience for travellers.
Other improvements in the pipeline include the building of remote aircraft parking stands on the vicinity of the new boarding satellites, inauguration of the regional terminal, opening of a second boarding satellite for terminal 2E and the implementation of a new baggage sorting system able to handle 15,600 pieces of baggage per hour.
Kenneth Yap
