PARIS, February 26, 2008  - Airports in France recorded a 4.9 percent gain
in passenger traffic last year thanks to low-cost carriers and international
operations, the French airport association UAF reported Monday.
   "We have a right to be satisfied with what has happened and believe it will
continue," UAF head Claude Terrazzoni told at a press conference.
   French airports handled 153.8 million passengers in 2007, of whom 86.3
million came through Paris.
   But Terrazzoni said the increase in French airport traffic last year lagged
the 5.6 percent worldwide gain, which he partially attributed to a strike at
Air France.
   Low-cost carriers operating at French airports saw a 20 percent rise in
passenger traffic last year to reach 23 million.
   There was a 7.7 percent rise in international passenger traffic, according
to the UAF.

AFP