ITA leaves moves from terminal 2F to 2B at Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport

ITA Airways is moving terminals in Paris Charles-de-Gaulle. An expected decision, even if its destination terminal comes as a surprise.

It came in the form of a terse press release on the airline’s website:

From the 13th of December 2023 onwards, ITA Airways passengers departing Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport will be directed to Terminal 2B.
Press releaseon ITA Airways website

An expected move

We knew that ITA’s days at Terminal 2F were numbered. This terminal handles the Schengen flights of Air France and its Skyteam partners, and ITA’s situation in this respect is complicated to say the least.

Yes, ITA is currently a member of Skyteam, but its takeover by Lufthansa, once it has been validated by the European Union, will certainly result in it joining Star Alliance, and certainly leaving Air France’s network of partners, even if technically speaking there’s nothing to prevent it from maintaining codeshares outside the alliance. But that’s not really Lufthansa Group policy.

Strangely enough, while ITA had only a limited participation in the alliance, with, for example, the impossibility for members of partner airlines’ frequent flyer programs to earn miles on flights sold by ITA and not by their own airline, the situation is now being regularized. Indeed, Flying Blue members can now earn miles by flying on ITA, even if their ticket is not sold by Air France.

A little inside, a little outside, possibly totally outside tomorrow but continuing to act as if nothing had happened, ITA’s situation is most unreadable.

And so, just as the Italian airline is normalizing its relationship with Air France in terms of mileage redemption, it is leaving its terminal at Roissy.

ITA moves to 2B

A change of alliance and the probable end of the partnership with Air France logically mean a change of terminal. What’s more, as we wrote on the occasion of the announcement of the relocation of Air France domestic flights from Orly to Roissy, the situation of 2F, already almost saturated, is a cause for concern all the more so as SAS is expected to settle here in the near future as part of its its tie-up with Air France-KLM and its entry into Skyteam.

So seeing ITA leave 2F both because room has to be made and because its life expectancy as an Air France partner is limited makes sense.

What’s surprising is that it’s happening so soon, and its destination terminal.

Except in the event of saturation, there is still no reason to do so today. The Lufthansa Group takeover has not yet been approved, and SAS won’t arrive for another year, so there’s no rush.

And then we’d expect ITA to join T1, where the Lufthansa Group companies operate, but no, ITA is going to 2B. Not with its current allies, but not with the next ones either.

A temporary move?

It’s only a short step from saying that this move corresponds to the grey area in which the Italian company finds itself.

It makes room in 2F, which is no luxury, but will only join 1 when it has definitively changed sides. At least that’s what we think, because with ITA you can expect anything.

For passengers who had access to the Air France lounge in 2F, it remains to be seen whether ITA will make the effort to offer them access to the Extime lounge in 2B.

The situation is also complicated for passengers connecting with Air France long-haul flights at 2E, since airside connections between the two terminals are not possible.

Bottom line

Nothing is simple with ITA, which is leaving Roissy’s terminal 2F to move to 2B, far from its current and future partners. Unless, of course, it’s only temporary, until his situation becomes clearer.

ITA by Davide Calabresi via Shutterstock