Paris-Orly handled 34,9 million passengers in 2025, up 5,5 % year on year. It is France’s second airport and, about 13 kilometres south of Paris, the closest to the centre. Its four-terminal numbering, adopted in 2019, is easier to read than Roissy’s — provided you understand what it actually covers.
What the four numbers cover
Before March 2019, Orly read as two names: Orly Ouest and Orly Sud. The refurbishment replaced those compass points with figures, without removing the geography they described.
Orly 1 and Orly 2 occupy the former Orly Ouest. The complex is on two levels: arrivals and baggage reclaim on the ground floor, with eight belts; departures on level 1. The boarding area fans out into four piers, and the building has twenty-three stands with air bridges, some of them able to take wide-bodied aircraft. The departure lounges are lettered A and B for Orly 1, C for Orly 2.
Orly 3 is the new element of the refurbishment: opened in April 2019, it is a connecting building that brings terminals 1, 2 and 4 under one roof. It houses about 5,000 m² of shops, catering and lounges, together with departure lounges D and E, with direct access to the Orly 4 gates.
Orly 4 is the former Orly Sud, opened in 1961: a steel and glass structure on six levels, with arrivals and shops on level 0, the boarding area on level 1, fifteen gates with air bridges and lounges E and F.
The useful reading. Orly 1, 2 and 3 form a continuum to the west; Orly 4 is to the south. The Orly 3 building links the two. You therefore move from one terminal to another on foot, without a shuttle, which sets Orly radically apart from Roissy.
Moving between the terminals
This is the main gain from the refurbishment. Where Roissy requires an automatic metro and, for one hall, a road shuttle, Orly can be walked. A passenger landing at Orly 4 reaches Orly 1 from inside, following the signs and crossing the connecting building. It is still a long walk with luggage, but it depends on no frequency and no connection.
That continuity has a direct bearing on transfers: the meeting point can be set at one terminal even if you land at another, with no risk of ending up on the wrong side of the airport.
Line 14, and the end of the Orlybus
The extension of metro line 14 to the airport, opened on 24 June 2024, has redrawn access to Orly. The line puts the airport less than 25 minutes from Châtelet and 40 minutes from Saint-Denis. The extension created eight stations, among them Maison-Blanche, Hôpital Bicêtre, Villejuif-Gustave Roussy, L’Haÿ-les-Roses, Chevilly-Larue, Thiais-Orly and Aéroport d’Orly. The airport station is on the Orly 3 side, which puts it within walking distance of all four terminals.
The effect on the existing services was immediate. Île-de-France Mobilités withdrew the Orlybus on 3 March 2025: use of the shuttle had collapsed and the buses often ran almost empty, since line 14 met the same need in 25 minutes against 45 by road, with a train every 95 seconds and full accessibility for passengers with reduced mobility. Looking for an Orlybus today means looking for a line that no longer exists.
The ticket to know is the Paris Région ↔ Aéroports ticket: 14 euros per journey, 7 euros at the reduced rate since 1 January 2026. It covers line 14 to Orly, Orlyval and the RER B to Roissy, but neither the buses, nor the trams, nor the cable cars. It allows connections for two hours from first validation, without leaving the network.
Orlyval, the other way in
Orlyval is still running. This automatic metro links Antony station, on the RER B, to the two airport stations: Orly 1, 2, 3 and then Orly 4. The journey from Antony is quoted at 6 minutes to the first, plus 2 minutes to the second. Trains run every 9 minutes, from 6am to 11.35pm, seven days a week. The Orly 1, 2, 3 station is on level 1, level with door 12d; the Orly 4 station is on the ground floor, door 48a. The section between the two airport stations is free.
Since line 14 opened, Orlyval is no longer the reference route from central Paris. It keeps its usefulness for anyone coming from the south of the Île-de-France or already travelling on the RER B — and as a fallback when line 14 is disrupted.
Where the pick-up happens
As at Roissy, the meeting point is decided at booking, from the flight number. Two arrangements exist side by side: a greeting in the arrivals hall, with the chauffeur waiting at the exit from baggage reclaim holding a sign with the passenger’s name; or a pick-up at the short-stay drop-off, which is more direct when you travel light.
The legal framework is the same everywhere. Article L. 3120-2 of the code des transports prohibits a chauffeur-driven vehicle from driving or parking in search of customers; picking up a customer without a prior booking is punishable, under article L. 3124-12, by one year’s imprisonment and a fine of 15,000 euros. A driver who approaches travellers in a hall is not working within that framework.
For taxis, the DGCCRF sets out the maximum flat fares between Orly and Paris: 36 euros to the Left Bank, 45 euros to the Right Bank. These are ceilings, and the meter must be switched on even if a price has been quoted before departure.
Orly or Roissy, depending on where you are going
The question mainly arises when several flights are possible. Three criteria settle it, in this order.
- The side you are heading for. Orly is south of Paris, Roissy north-east, about twenty kilometres from the centre. An address in the south of the Île-de-France, at Versailles or towards the Essonne is quicker from Orly; the Seine-et-Marne, Disneyland or the Hauts-de-France are quicker from Roissy. The distance to central Paris is not the right criterion: crossing the conurbation is.
- The rail connection. Roissy has a TGV station on site, Aéroport Charles-de-Gaulle 2 TGV, and a 10-minute link to Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy. Orly has no high-speed station within the airport. For a journey combining plane and train, that changes everything.
- Your arrival time. Orlyval stops at 11.35pm, the RER B at around midnight. A late flight makes public transport unworkable at both airports, and the choice then falls to the road.
Worth noting for the years ahead: the future line 18 will also serve Orly, which will strengthen access from the south-west of the Île-de-France further still.
In practice
Before booking a transfer from Orly, gather the flight number and its arrival time, the terminal shown on your confirmation, the precise destination address and the number of bags. The Orly terminal remains useful information even though the airport can be walked: it determines the door the vehicle pulls up at.
At Novalia, the journey is confirmed in advance, the flight is tracked so the pick-up can be adjusted if it is delayed, and the price is fixed and known before payment. To arrange an arrival at Orly, an early departure or a return trip: contact@novaliafleet.com.
Sources
Every figure in this article comes from one of these sources, consulted on 18 September 2026. Dates and fares published by third parties may change without notice.
- Groupe ADP — Traffic for December and the full year 2025
- Région Île-de-France — The extended line 14 puts Orly airport 25 minutes from central Paris
- Île-de-France Mobilités — Withdrawal of the Orlybus
- Île-de-France Mobilités — Paris Région Aéroports ticket
- Orlyval — Official site
- Transilien — Orlyval shuttle
- Bonjour RATP — Guide to Orly airport
- DGCCRF — Taxis: understanding regulated fares
- Sénat — Tougher penalties for illegal plying for hire by private hire vehicles
- SNCF Connect — Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy station
- Wikipedia — Paris-Orly Airport
