Air France confirmed on 23 September that it will handle all air travel associated with Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic visit to France (25-28 September). An Airbus A321 will be specially configured with two cabins and re-badged "Cité du Vatican" for the occasion. Three state flights—Paris-Orly ➜ Lourdes, Lourdes ➜ Metz-Nancy-Lorraine, and Metz-Nancy-Lorraine ➜ Rome—will carry the pontiff, 70-plus members of the Holy See, security personnel and more than 80 accredited journalists. Transavia will provide an additional charter between Orly and Lourdes for clergy and media. Because the flights are classified as “vols d’État”, the aircraft will receive diplomatic handling: priority slots, dedicated parking stands, enhanced security sweeps and a fast-track immigration channel for all passengers. More than 100 Air France employees—from flight operations and maintenance to ground services and protocol—have been seconded to the operation, underlining the logistical scale of moving a head-of-state entourage across three French airports in 48 hours. For corporate mobility managers, the announcement means capacity constraints at Orly, Lourdes and Metz during key business-travel periods on 26 and 28 September. Slot saturation may trigger schedule adjustments or fuel stops for other carriers. Travel teams should monitor NOTAMs, which the French civil-aviation authority will issue 48 hours before each leg, and build in longer connection windows for passengers transiting these airports. The flights also give a rare glimpse into France’s state-flight protocol. While most business-aviation users will never require it, understanding the framework (priority handling, customs exemptions, diplomatic clearances) is helpful for multinational firms that occasionally move VIPs under a government aegis—particularly during major events such as the Paris 2027 Expo. Air France’s dedicated ‘Évènements’ unit, which coordinates everything from G-20 summits to papal visits, can be contracted by corporates that need similar turnkey solutions for high-security delegates. Finally, the operation highlights the continued importance of France’s secondary regional hubs for global mobility. Metz-Nancy-Lorraine, often overlooked by planners, is being upgraded to Level 3 security and immigration status for the papal flight—capacity that will remain after the visit and could offer new routings for international assignees in the Grand Est region.
Source: Air France press release
