1.
Orly Air Base
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Orly Air Base was a United States Air Force Facility during the early part of the Cold War, located at Aeroport de Paris-Orly, nine miles south of Paris, France. The American Air Base was located on the side of the airport. The facility was first developed as an airfield by the Air Service. With the end of the war, in 1920 it was developed into a civil airport. After the 1940 Battle of France, the occupying German Luftwaffe sized the facility, in 1944, the Germans were driven out and it subsequently became an Advanced Landing Ground designated A-47 for the United States Army Air Forces Ninth Air Force. Rebuilt after the war as a joint civil/military airfield, the use of the base was to support Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe at Rocquencourt. Secondary functions were as a processing center for inbound and outbound personnel assigned to France. In 1967 the American military facilities were closed as a result of Frances withdrawal from NATOs integrated military command, Paris Orly Airports beginnings date to World War I, and the entry of the United States into the conflict on the Western Front. A joint French and American military team inspected various locations in the Paris area, a suitable location of four fields was located on the Fountainbleau Road,12 km south-east from the center of Paris, and 1.5 km northeast of the suburb of Orly. At the time there were two wooden barracks partially completed at the site and it was not yet ready for use. The Americans slept in their trucks that night, being awakened at 2, later that day, the Americans completed the two barracks and started construction on a third one. On Armistice Day,11 November 1918, there were 323 Officers and 2,283 enlisted men assigned, the organizational structure included three main groups, Airplane Operations, Engineering, and Post Operations, which were, in turn, sub-divided into various Divisions and Sections. A parts Depot, was never developed as such, and was used basically for parts storage to support the operations of Orly Field. The Post Operations group was concerned with the administration of the facility, such as security, provost, fire marshal, quartermaster department, during 1918, construction was an ongoing process at Orly and the war ended before it was fully completed. The Engineering Department was responsible for the various shops needed to repair aircraft, aircraft Operations The first meaningful use of Orly Aerodrome with the arrival of the first aircraft on 6 April 1918, when three Sopwith 1A2s landed at the field from Le Bourget Airport. The first aircraft was out on 20 April. During the first month of operation, a total of 37 aircraft were flown from Orly to the Front, at this early stage of operations, there were still few personnel assigned and much of the equipment for the Park had not yet arrived. The operations were very much makeshift until June, when the number of personnel had increased, new aircraft aeeiving for acceptance at Orly were first directed to the Receiving Division
2.
ICAO airport code
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The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-character alphanumeric code designating aerodromes around the world. ICAO codes are used to identify other aviation facilities such as weather stations, International Flight Service Stations or Area Control Centers. Flight information regions are identified by a unique ICAO-code. Code selections in North America were based on existing radio station identifiers, for example, radio stations in Canada were already starting with C, so it seemed logical to begin Canadian airport identifiers with Cxxx. The United States had many pre-existing airports with established mnemonic codes and their ICAO codes were formed simply by prepending a K to the existing codes, as half the radio station identifiers in the US began with K. Most ICAO codes outside the US and Canada have a geographical structure. Most of the rest of the world was classified in a more planned top-down manner, thus Uxxx referred to the Soviet Union with the second letter denoting the specific region within it, and so forth. Europe had too many locations for one starting letter, so it was split into Exxx for northern Europe. The second letter was more specific, EGxx was the United Kingdom, EDxx was West Germany, ETxx was East Germany, LExx was Spain, LAxx was Albania, France was designated LFxx, as the counterpart EFxx was the unambiguously northern Finland. ICAO codes are separate and different from IATA codes, which are used for airline timetables, reservations. For example, the IATA code for Londons Heathrow Airport is LHR, in general IATA codes are usually derived from the name of the airport or the city it serves, while ICAO codes are distributed by region and country. Far more aerodromes have ICAO codes than IATA codes, and to add to the confusion IATA codes are assigned to railway stations. Unlike the IATA codes, the ICAO codes generally have a structure and are comprehensive. In general, the first letter is allocated by continent and represents a country or group of countries within that continent, the second letter generally represents a country within that region, and the remaining two are used to identify each airport. The exception to rule is larger countries that have single-letter country codes. In either case, ICAO codes generally provide geographical context unlike IATA codes, for example, if one knows that the ICAO code for Heathrow is EGLL, then one can deduce that the airport EGGP is somewhere in the UK. On the other hand, knowing that the IATA code for Heathrow is LHR does not enable one to deduce the location of the airport LHV with any greater certainty, there are a few exceptions to the regional structure of the ICAO code made for political or administrative reasons. Similarly Saint Pierre and Miquelon is controlled by France, and airports there are assigned LFxx as though they were in Europe, further, in region L, all available 2-letter prefixes have been exhausted and thus no additional countries can be added
3.
Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
4.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
5.
Essonne
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Essonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River and it was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments. The Essonne department was created on 1 January 1968, from the portion of the former department of Seine-et-Oise. In June 1963 Carrefour S. A. opened the first hypermarket in the Paris region at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, in 1969, the communes of Châteaufort and Toussus-le-Noble were separated from Essonne and added to the department of Yvelines. Essonne belongs to the region of Île-de-France and it has borders with the departments of, Hauts-de-Seine and Val-de-Marne to the north, Seine-et-Marne to the east, Loiret to the south, Eure-et-Loir and Yvelines to the west. All of northern Essonne department belongs to the Parisian agglomeration and is very urbanized, milly-la-Forêt is an example of its more rural communes. Founded in 1794, LEcole Polytechnique is one of the most prestigious engineering universities in France and this university was ranked 10th in the world by the Times Higher Education Supplement in 2005. Its campus is in the town of Palaiseau, one of the best public schools in France, it is ranked 52nd by Academic Ranking of World Universities. It is best known for its physics department, located in Orsay, Essonne, about 26,000 students are enrolled. The Headquarters of the Arianespace Company, a major commercial aerospace launcher, originally having been an ancient fort during Roman times, the first feudal lords began to inhabit the castle around 1000 AD. One major battle was fought in the castle during its lifetime, in 1465, Charles the Rash and French King Louis XI fought in the plains in front of the castle. In 1842, the reconstruction of the castle was started, covering 3,500 hectares in area, this forest is very important to the local population. The local government has kept roads and agricultural companies from cutting down parts of this forest, the forest receives between two and three million visitors annually, and the government spends 1.2 million euros a year maintaining it. Situated in Évry, this is a grande ecole for engineers The departments most high-profile political representative has been Manuel Valls and he visited its main town Évry to deliver remarks following the Charlie Hebdo massacre of January 2015
6.
Airline hub
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Airline hubs or hub airports are used by one or more airliners to concentrate passenger traffic and flight operations at a given airport. They serve as points to get passengers to their final destination. It is part of the hub-and-spoke system, an airline operates flights from several non-hub cities to the hub airport, and passengers traveling between spoke cities need to connect through the hub. This paradigm creates economies of scale that allow an airline to serve city-pairs that could not be economically served on a non-stop basis. This system contrasts with the point-to-point model, in there are no hubs. Hub airports also serve origin and destination traffic, the hub-and-spoke system allows an airline to serve fewer routes, so fewer aircraft are needed. The system also increases passenger loads, a flight from a hub to a spoke carries not just passengers originating at the hub, additional employees and facilities are needed to cater to connecting passengers. To serve spoke cities of varying populations and demand, an airline requires several aircraft types, in addition, airlines may experience capacity constraints as they expand at their hub airports. For the passenger, the system offers one-stop air service to a wide array of destinations. However, having to make connections en route to their final destination increases travel time. Additionally, airlines can come to monopolise their hubs, allowing them to increase fares. Airlines may operate banks of flights at their hubs, in several flights arrive. The banks may be known as peaks of activity at the hubs, banking allows for short connection times for passengers. In addition, banking could result in inefficient aircraft utilisation, with aircraft waiting at spoke cities for the next bank, instead, some airlines have debanked their hubs, introducing a rolling hub in which flight arrivals and departures are spread throughout the day. This phenomenon is known as depeaking. While costs may decrease, connection times are longer at a rolling hub, American Airlines was the first to depeak its hubs, trying to improve profitability following the September 11 attacks. It rebanked its hubs in 2015, however, feeling the gain in connecting passengers would outweigh the rise in costs, the hub-and-spoke system is also used by some cargo airlines. FedEx Express established its main hub in Memphis in 1973, prior to the deregulation of the air industry in the United States
7.
Aigle Azur
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Société Aigle Azur Transports Aériens is an airline with its head office in Tremblay-en-France, France, near Paris, it is currently the second largest airline in France, behind the Air France Group. It operates domestic scheduled services and international services to Algeria, Mali, Portugal, Senegal. It also operates charter, cargo and wet lease services and its main bases are Orly Airport, Paris. Aigle Azur is also accredited by IATA with the IATA Operational Safety Audit for its safety practices, in April 1946, Sylvain Floirat established the original Aigle Azur as one of the first wholly privately owned, independent airlines in post-war France. Between 1946 and 1955, the airline operated a fleet of Douglas DC-3s. During the early 1950s, Aigle Azur began operating long-haul scheduled routes linking metropolitan France with Africa, Frances Ministry of Public Works and Transport had transferred Air Frances traffic rights for these routes to the countrys newly created independent airlines, including Aigle Azur. In 1970, the airline was re-constituted as an airline named Lucas Aviation. The re-formed airlines corporate and operational headquarters was at Paris Pontoise Airport, Lucas Aviation initially traded as Lucas Air Transport and operated regional scheduled services, including a year-round operation linking Deauville with London Gatwick. The name subsequently changed once more to Lucas Aigle Azur, in May 2001, Groupe GOFAST acquired Lucas Aigle Azur from its previous owners, and reinstated the original name, Aigle Azur. The new owner refocused the airline as a mainstream short- to medium-haul scheduled, Aigle Azur began replacing its Boeing 737s with Airbus A320 family aircraft. It has 450 employees as of May 2007, a plane operated by Aigle Azur landed in Baghdad on 31-10-2010, becoming the first flight from a European airline to arrive in the city since the twenty-year-old international embargo began in 1990. On 23 October 2012, HNA Group announced that it completed its acquisition of a 48 percent stake in Aigle Azur in Paris, in December 2012, Goldenflyer awarded the airline for Best Cabin crew. The airlines administrative head office is in Tremblay-en-France, near Paris, the airlines registered office is in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. The majority of Aigle Azurs international flights are to Africa and Europe, Aigle Azur codeshares with Hainan Airlines. On 27 November 1949, an Aigle Azur Douglas C-47 Skytrain was shot down in an occurrence near Dong Khe. On 9 July 1950, an Aigle Azur Douglas C-47 Skytrain crashed shortly after take-off from Casablanca, on 12 February 1951, another Aigle Azur Skytrain was damaged beyond repair in a crash landing at Luang Prabang Airport. On 16 April 1953, another Aigle Azur C-47 lost one wing shortly after take-off from Hanoi on a charter flight to Nà Sản Airport. The aircraft subsequently crashed, and the 27 passengers and 3 crew members on board died, on 19 June 1953 an Aigle Azur Douglas C-47 crashed into a hill after a fire started on board, killing the 29 passengers and 5 crew members
8.
Air France
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Air France, stylized as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance. The airlines global hub is at Charles de Gaulle Airport with Orly Airport, Air Frances corporate headquarters, previously in Montparnasse, Paris, are located on the grounds of Charles de Gaulle Airport, north of Paris. During the Cold War, from 1950 until 1990, it was one of the three main Allied scheduled airlines operating in Germany at West Berlins Tempelhof and Tegel airports. In 1990, it acquired the operations of French domestic carrier Air Inter and it served as Frances primary national flag carrier for seven decades prior to its 2003 merger with KLM. Between April 2001 and March 2002, the airline carried 43.3 million passengers and had a revenue of €12. 53bn. In November 2004, Air France ranked as the largest European airline with 25. 5% total market share, Air France operates a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing widebody jets on long-haul routes, and uses Airbus A320 family aircraft on short-haul routes. Air France introduced the A380 on 20 November 2009 with service to New York Citys JFK Airport from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, the carriers regional airline subsidiary, HOP. operates the majority of its regional domestic and European scheduled services with a fleet of regional jet aircraft. Of these airlines, SGTA was the first commercial company in France. The constituent members of Air France had already built extensive networks across Europe, to French colonies in North Africa, during World War II, Air France moved its operations to Casablanca. In 1936, Air France added French-built twin engine Potez 62 aircraft to its featuring a two compartment cabin that could accommodate 14 to 16 passengers. A high wing monoplane, it had a fuselage with composite coating while the wings were fabric covered with a metal leading edge. Equipped with Hispano-Suiza V-engines, they were used on routes in Europe, South America, on 26 June 1945 all of Frances air transport companies were nationalised. On 29 December 1945, a decree of the French Government granted Air France the management of the entire French air transport network, Air France appointed its first flight attendants in 1946. The same year the airline opened its first air terminal at Les Invalides in central Paris and it was linked to Paris Le Bourget Airport, Air Frances first operations and engineering base, by coach. At that time the network covered 160,000 km, claimed to be the longest in the world, Société Nationale Air France was set up on 1 January 1946. European schedules were initially operated by a fleet of Douglas DC-3 aircraft, on 1 July 1946, Air France started direct flights between Paris and New York via refuelling stops at Shannon and Gander. Douglas DC-4 piston-engine airliners covered the route in just under 20 hours, in September 1947 Air Frances network stretched east from New York, Fort de France and Buenos Aires to Shanghai
9.
HOP!
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Société HOP. is the brand name of the regional flights operated by subsidiaries of Air France. Its flight are operated by Airlinair, Brit Air and Régional under the HOP. brand, the new brand offers daily flights to 50 French and European destinations. Its head office is in the Parc tertiaire Silic in Rungis in Greater Paris, the new airline brand was created to better compete with the low-cost airlines which have taken a significant market share of Air Frances regional routes. Régional Compagnie Aérienne Européenne, Brit Air and Airlinair operate a total of 103 aircraft. The airline is acquiring 5 ATR 72-600 aircraft in 2015 as replacements for its older ATR 72-500s
10.
Transavia France
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It shares its corporate design, website and operating model with its Dutch sister company, Transavia. Transavia France was established as transavia. com France in November 2006 by Air France and the Dutch airline Transavia, antoine Pussiau has been the CEO since January 2013. Transavia France S. A. S. is 60% owned by Air France S. A. and 40% owned by Transavia Airlines C. V. of the Netherlands, both of which in turn are ultimately owned by Air France–KLM. Transavia is run as an independent operation, with both arms operating with a business model, website and image. The performance figures for the Transavia brand operations are reported within the annual accounts of their ultimate parent. The financials for both parts of the brand are fully incorporated in the Air France-KLM accounts, Transavia France is headquartered at Paris-Orly Airport in Paray Vieille Poste. Transavia offers the Assortment on Board buy on board service offering food, the Transavia France fleet consists of the following aircraft as of May 2016, Media related to Transavia at Wikimedia Commons Official website
11.
Corsair International
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Corsair International, legally Corsair S. A. is a French airline headquartered in Rungis and based at Paris-Orly Airport. It is a subsidiary of German TUI Group, part of TUI Airlines and it operates scheduled long-haul services to 9 leisure destinations in the French overseas territories, Africa and North America as well as charter flights to further destinations. The airline was established in 1981 and started operations on 17 May 1981 as Corse Air International and it was founded by the Corsican Rossi family, in 1990 it was acquired by Nouvelles Frontières, a French tour operator, and the name was changed to Corsair. Worldwide traffic rights were obtained in 1991, in 2000 TUI AG, one of the worlds leading tour operator groups, took over Nouvelles Frontières. In 2004, Corsair aircraft were repainted with the colours of TUI, blue fuselage with the TUI-logo, at the end of 2005 the TUI Group, decided to rename all its affiliated airlines TUIfly. As an interim step Corsair aircraft were repainted with Corsairfly markings, the airline held the record for most seats on a passenger aircraft with 587 seats on its Boeing 747-400s until they received a new interior which led to a new lower capacity of 533 passengers. The first destination in this expansion was Miami in June 2010, on 27 May 2010, Corsairfly announced a plan called Takeoff 2012, aimed to modernise the airline. As of October 2010, the plan was pending union approval, on 22 March 2012, the airline announced it would be changing its name to Corsair International and unveiled the new corporate image inline with the planned operational changes. In 2015, Corsairs owner, German tourism company TUI Group, TUI Group also announced a rebrand of all TUI companies and airlines, to operate under the one TUI name, in 2015 - however Corsair International was excluded from this project. The Corsair International fleet consists of the aircraft as of June 2016
12.
Focus city
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In the airline industry, a focus city is a destination from which an airline operates several point-to-point routes. Thus, a city primarily caters to the local market rather than to connecting passengers. However, with the terms expanded usage, a city may also function as a small-scale hub. Allegiant Air, JetBlue and Frontier Airlines are examples of airlines that consider some of their destinations to be focus cities
13.
Chalair Aviation
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Chalair Aviation is a French regional airline with its head office and base on the grounds of Caen – Carpiquet Airport in Carpiquet. It operates scheduled services as well as charter flights for various occasions. The airline was founded in 1986, between 1997 and 2004, Chalair Aviation operated 1 Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner,1 ATR 42-300 and 3 Cessna Citation II and CJ2 jets. The airline now employs a total 42 persons, among them 27 are pilots, in July 2016, Chalair Aviation took over the Antwerp to Hamburg route from bankrupt VLM Airlines, inaugurating its first service to Germany
14.
EasyJet
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EasyJet is a British airline, operating under the low-cost carrier model, based at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on over 820 routes in more than 30 countries, EasyJet plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE100 Index. EasyGroup Holdings Ltd is the largest shareholder with a 34. 62% stake and it employs nearly 11,000 people, based throughout Europe but mainly in the UK. EasyJet has seen expansion since its establishment in 1995, having grown through a combination of acquisitions, the airline, along with associate company easyJet Switzerland, operates more than 200 aircraft, mostly Airbus A319. It has 28 bases across Europe, the largest being Gatwick, in 2014 the airline carried more than 65 million passengers, making it the second-largest airline in Europe by number of passengers carried, behind Ryanair. EasyJet was featured in the television series Airline broadcast on ITV which followed the operations at London Luton. In November 2016, ITN Productions announced a new TV series to be broadcast on ITV in 2017 exploring what it takes to become a pilot at the airline. The current working title of the series is easyJet, Inside the Cockpit and will feature unprecedented access to the pilot training scheme using unique. The airline was established in 1995, the first company in what would become the easyGroup conglomerate. It was launched by Greek Cypriot businessman Stelios Haji-Ioannou with two wet leased Boeing 737-200 aircraft, initially operating two routes, London Luton Airport to Glasgow and Edinburgh. In April 1996, the first wholly owned aircraft was delivered to the airline, enabling its first international route, until October 1997, the aircraft were operated by GB Airways and subsequently by Air Foyle, as easyJet had not yet received its Air Operators Certificate. EasyJet was floated on the London Stock Exchange on 5 November 2000, in October 2004 the FL Group, owner of the airlines Icelandair and Sterling, purchased an 8. 4% stake in the airline. Over the course of 2005, FL increased its share in the company periodically to 16. 9%, however, in April 2006 the threat of takeover receded as FL sold its stake for €325 million, securing a profit of €140m on its investment. In November 2005, Ray Webster stood down after 10 years as executive officer and was replaced by former RAC plc CEO. EasyJet has expanded since its establishment, driven by demand from both the United Kingdom and continental Europe, as part of this, the airline has also purchased several rivals, including GB Airways. In March 1998, easyJet purchased a 40% stake in Swiss charter airline TEA Basle for three million Swiss francs, the airline was renamed easyJet Switzerland and commenced franchise services on 1 April 1999, having relocated its headquarters to Geneva International Airport. This was easyJets first new base outside the United Kingdom, in 2002, rival airline Go Fly was purchased for £374 million, the airline inherited three new bases from Go, at Bristol Airport, East Midlands Airport and London Stansted Airport. The acquisition of Go almost doubled the number of Boeing 737-300 aircraft in the easyJet fleet, in 2002, the airline opened its base at Gatwick Airport, and between 2003 and 2007 opened bases in Germany, France, Italy and Spain, establishing a presence in continental Europe
15.
Royal Air Maroc
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Royal Air Maroc, more commonly known as RAM, is the Moroccan national carrier, as well as the countrys largest airline. RAM is fully owned by the government of Morocco, and has its headquarters on the grounds of Casablanca-Anfa Airport, the fleet of the newly formed airline included six Bretagnes, four Commandos, five DC-3s and two Languedocs. These aircraft worked on routes served by the predecessor companies, plus Frankfurt, Geneva. The name Royal Air Maroc was adopted on 28 June 1957, the carriers fleet comprised 16 aircraft by April 1958, including four DC-4s, three DC-3s, seven Bretagnes and two C-46s. In May 1958, the airline ordered two Caravelles, in July, a number of long-haul routes were launched using four Lockheed L-749 Constellations leased from Air France, and the coastal Oran–Oujda run — which had been suspended in May — was reopened. Also in 1958, the carrier started flying to Gibraltar, the arrival of the Constellations enabled the airline to withdraw the DC-4s from service. The type began serving the Rabat–Bamako route in July 1961, by 1964, there were three Caravelles in the fleet. A fourth was ordered in late 1964, at April 1965, the company had 758 employees and chairmanship was held by Mohammed Al Fassi. Shareholding at the time was split between the government of Morocco, Air France, Compagnie Generale Transatlantique, Aviacion y Comercio, an order for a fifth Caravelle was placed in early 1968. By 1969, all routes to Europe and North Africa were flown using solely these aircraft, in 1969, the carrier placed its first order with Boeing. Royal Air Maroc took delivery of the first Boeing aircraft, a Boeing 727-200, in 1970, the RAMs fleet at May 1971 comprised two Boeing 727-200s, along with four Caravelles and two SIAI Marchetti SF. 260s. At a cost of US$8.85 million, a third Boeing 727-200 was ordered in 1972, in 1974, the carrier ordered a single Boeing 727-200 Advanced, followed by an order for a fourth Boeing 727-200. Also that year, negotiations with Air France for the lease of a Boeing 707-320B started, by March 1975, the Boeing 707 was part of an 11-strong fleet, along with four Boeing 727-200s, four Caravelles, and two SIAI Marchetti SF. 260s. RAM flew the leased Boeing 707 to New York for the first time in April 1975, during the year, the company acquired three Boeing 737-200s to replace the Caravelles. Also in 1975, a weekly service to Rio de Janeiro was started. An order for three more Boeing 727-200s was placed in early 1976 and that year, the four Caravelles were withdrawn from service and sold. A Boeing 747-200B entered the fleet in September 1978, by July 1980, Royal Air Maroc had 3,583 employees. At this time, the fleet consisted of a single Boeing 747-200B
16.
Vueling
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Vueling Airlines, S. A. is a Spanish low-cost airline based at El Prat de Llobregat in Greater Barcelona with hubs in Barcelona–El Prat Airport and Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy. Its name comes from the Spanish word vuelo, which means flight, there are thirteen additional bases at A Coruña, Alicante, Amsterdam, Bilbao, Brussels, Florence, Madrid, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Paris-Orly, Santiago de Compostela, Seville and Valencia. A fifteenth summer seasonal base is located at Ibiza, Vueling serves over 100 destinations in Africa, Asia and Europe and is currently the second largest airline in Spain. In 2014, the airline carried more than 17.2 million passengers, Vueling was established in February 2004 and commenced operations on 1 July 2004 with a flight between Barcelona and Ibiza. The initial fleet consisted of two Airbus A320 aircraft, based in Barcelona serving Brussels, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca, the name Vueling was formed by combining the Spanish word vuelo with the English gerund suffix -ing. Initially, major shareholders of Vueling Airlines were Apax Partners, Inversiones Hemisferio, Vuelings management team, during its nascent stages, the companys general manager was Lázaro Ros, while Carlos Muñoz was CEO. In November 2007, Vueling appointed managing director of Spanair Lars Nygaard as CEO to replace Carlos Muñoz, Madrid was added as the airlines second base in 2005, followed by its first base outside Spain at Paris Charles de Gaulle in 2007. 2007 was a year for Vueling, Apax Partners sold its then-21% stake in the carrier in June of that year. Two company directors and the chairman resigned shortly before the second warning, citing differences over commercial strategy. Shares in the company were also temporarily suspended and this led to Barbara Cassani, former Chief Executive of UK low-cost airline Go, joining Vueling as chairman of the board in September 2007. The airline then embarked on an exercise and posted its first profit in mid-2009. In June 2008, Vueling and rival Spanish low cost airline Clickair announced their intention to merge, the merger was designed to create a carrier better able to compete in the competitive Spanish airline market and mitigate high fuel costs with Iberia as the main industrial partner. While the new company would trade under the Vueling name, Clickairs Alex Cruz was named as chief executive, the deal was subject to scrutiny and approval by European competition regulators, who were concerned that the merged airline would have a significant competitive advantage on around 19 routes. The regulators demanded the release of slots at Barcelona and other European airports as a condition of the merger, on 15 July 2009 the merger of Vueling and Clickair was completed. The new merged airline operates under the Vueling brand, with Clickair flights and it became the second largest Spanish carrier flying 8.2 million passengers in 2009, to almost 50 destinations. In 2009, Vueling for the year running co-operated with MTV during the summer season. Two of Vuelings A320 aircraft were re-painted into MTV liveries with some MTV styling on-board too, the designs of both liveries were created by Custo Dalmau and both liveries were removed at the end of 2009. In November 2010, Vueling announced a new base at Toulouse Airport in France from April 2011, followed in December 2010 by the announcement of a new base in Amsterdam, the Toulouse base opened on 23 April 2011, but has since closed
17.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
18.
Runway
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According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a runway is a defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft. Runways may be a surface or a natural surface. Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally the magnetic azimuth of the heading in decadegrees. This heading differs from true north by the magnetic declination. A runway numbered 09 points east, runway 18 is south, runway 27 points west, when taking off from or landing on runway 09, a plane would be heading 90°. A runway can normally be used in both directions, and is named for each separately, e. g. runway 33 in one direction is runway 15 when used in the other. The two numbers usually differ by 18, Runway Zero Three Left becomes Runway Two One Right when used in the opposite direction. In some countries, if parallel runways are too close to each other, at large airports with four or more parallel runways some runway identifiers are shifted by 10 degrees to avoid the ambiguity that would result with more than three parallel runways. For example, in Los Angeles, this results in runways 6L, 6R, 7L. At Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, there are five parallel runways, named 17L, 17C, 17R, 18L, for clarity in radio communications, each digit in the runway name is pronounced individually, runway three six, runway one four, etc. A leading zero, for example in runway zero six or runway zero one left, is included for all ICAO, however, most U. S. civil aviation airports drop the leading zero as required by FAA regulation. This also includes some military airfields such as Cairns Army Airfield and this American anomaly may lead to inconsistencies in conversations between American pilots and controllers in other countries. It is very common in a such as Canada for a controller to clear an incoming American aircraft to, for example, runway 04. In flight simulation programs those of American origin might apply U. S. usage to airports around the world, for example, runway 05 at Halifax will appear on the program as the single digit 5 rather than 05. Runway designations change over time because the magnetic poles slowly drift on the Earths surface, depending on the airport location and how much drift takes place, it may be necessary over time to change the runway designation. As runways are designated with headings rounded to the nearest 10 degrees, for example, if the magnetic heading of a runway is 233 degrees, it would be designated Runway 23. If the magnetic heading changed downwards by 5 degrees to 228, if on the other hand the original magnetic heading was 226, and the heading decreased by only 2 degrees to 224, the runway should become Runway 22. Because the drift itself is slow, runway designation changes are uncommon
19.
Concrete
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Concrete is a composite material composed of coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement that hardens over time. Most concretes used are lime-based concretes such as Portland cement concrete or concretes made with other hydraulic cements, when aggregate is mixed together with dry Portland cement and water, the mixture forms a fluid slurry that is easily poured and molded into shape. The cement reacts chemically with the water and other ingredients to form a matrix that binds the materials together into a durable stone-like material that has many uses. Often, additives are included in the mixture to improve the properties of the wet mix or the finished material. Most concrete is poured with reinforcing materials embedded to provide tensile strength, famous concrete structures include the Hoover Dam, the Panama Canal, and the Roman Pantheon. The earliest large-scale users of technology were the ancient Romans. The Colosseum in Rome was built largely of concrete, and the dome of the Pantheon is the worlds largest unreinforced concrete dome. Today, large concrete structures are made with reinforced concrete. After the Roman Empire collapsed, use of concrete became rare until the technology was redeveloped in the mid-18th century, today, concrete is the most widely used man-made material. The word concrete comes from the Latin word concretus, the passive participle of concrescere, from con-. Perhaps the earliest known occurrence of cement was twelve years ago. A deposit of cement was formed after an occurrence of oil shale located adjacent to a bed of limestone burned due to natural causes and these ancient deposits were investigated in the 1960s and 1970s. On a human timescale, small usages of concrete go back for thousands of years and they discovered the advantages of hydraulic lime, with some self-cementing properties, by 700 BC. They built kilns to supply mortar for the construction of houses, concrete floors. The cisterns were kept secret and were one of the reasons the Nabataea were able to thrive in the desert, some of these structures survive to this day. In the Ancient Egyptian and later Roman eras, it was re-discovered that adding volcanic ash to the mix allowed it to set underwater, similarly, the Romans knew that adding horse hair made concrete less liable to crack while it hardened, and adding blood made it more frost-resistant. Crystallization of strätlingite and the introduction of pyroclastic clays creates further fracture resistance, german archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann found concrete floors, which were made of lime and pebbles, in the royal palace of Tiryns, Greece, which dates roughly to 1400–1200 BC. Lime mortars were used in Greece, Crete, and Cyprus in 800 BC, the Assyrian Jerwan Aqueduct made use of waterproof concrete
20.
Bitumen
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Asphalt, also known as bitumen is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in deposits or may be a refined product. Until the 20th century, the term asphaltum was also used, the word is derived from the Ancient Greek ἄσφαλτος ásphaltos. The primary use of asphalt/bitumen is in construction, where it is used as the glue or binder mixed with aggregate particles to create asphalt concrete. Its other main uses are for bituminous waterproofing products, including production of roofing felt, the terms asphalt and bitumen are often used interchangeably to mean both natural and manufactured forms of the substance. In American English, asphalt is the carefully refined residue from the process of selected crude oils. Outside the United States, the product is often called bitumen, geologists often prefer the term bitumen. Common usage often refers to forms of asphalt/bitumen as tar. Naturally occurring asphalt/bitumen is sometimes specified by the crude bitumen. Its viscosity is similar to that of cold molasses while the material obtained from the distillation of crude oil boiling at 525 °C is sometimes referred to as refined bitumen. The Canadian province of Alberta has most of the reserves of natural bitumen, covering 142,000 square kilometres. Additionally, most natural bitumens contain organosulfur compounds, resulting in a sulfur content of up to 4%. Nickel and vanadium are found in the <10 ppm level, as is typical of some petroleum, the substance is soluble in carbon disulfide. It is commonly modelled as a colloid, with asphaltenes as the dispersed phase, and it is almost impossible to separate and identify all the different molecules of asphalt, because the number of molecules with different chemical structure is extremely large. Asphalt/bitumen can sometimes be confused with tar, which is a visually similar black. During the early and mid-20th century when town gas was produced, coal tar was a readily available byproduct, the addition of tar to macadam roads led to the word tarmac, which is now used in common parlance to refer to road-making materials. However, since the 1970s, when natural gas succeeded town gas, other examples of this confusion include the La Brea Tar Pits and the Canadian oil sands, both of which actually contain natural bitumen rather than tar. Pitch is another term used at times to refer to asphalt/bitumen
21.
Eurocontrol
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The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known as Eurocontrol, is an international organisation working to achieve safe and seamless air traffic management across Europe. Founded in 1960, Eurocontrol currently has 41 member states and is headquartered in Brussels, the organization employs approximately two thousand people and operates with an annual budget in excess of half a billion Euros. The EU itself is a signatory of Eurocontrol and all EU member states are also members of Eurocontrol. The organization works with national authorities, air service providers, civil and military airspace users, airports. The Eurocontrol Convention was signed in 1960 and ratified in 1963, the other four original members agreed in 1964 to set up a single international air traffic control center to manage their upper airspace, settling in the Dutch city of Maastricht. The European Parliament at the time expressed concern about the lack of clear intergovernmental agreements to ensure common air traffic control services across the continent. In 1979, Eurocontrol signed a cooperation agreement with the European Commission, attempting to create a synergy of Eurocontrol’s technical expertise. Subsequently, ECAC urged all of its states to join Eurocontrol. A revised Eurocontrol Convention was signed in 1997, renewing the organization’s optimism for political support. In June 1998, Eurocontrol, the European Space Agency and the European Commission also signed an agreement formalizing cooperation in the realm of navigation systems. In 1999 the European Commission presented its plan for a Single European Sky to the European Parliament, the pressure was further compounded by the September 11 attacks, increasing the need for a rapid Europe-wide regulatory and coordinating body. By May 2003, EUROCONTROL and NATO had signed a memorandum of cooperation, in February 2004, Eurocontrol started work on first mandates from the European Commission and in April 2004, it adopted the Single European Sky Regulations. In March 2006, the European Commission’s Single European Sky ATM Research Program was launched by the Stakeholder Consultation Group under Eurocontrols aegis, Eurocontrol provides a set of different services, Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre Network Manager Operations Centre – coordinates flight plans and actual traffic. EAD – centralized access to AIS information, central Route Charges Office – collects en-route charges on behalf of Air Navigation Service providers. Eurocontrol Experimental Centre – ATM research, simulations, etc, institute of Air Navigation Services – training and e-learning. Eurocontrol Safety Regulatory Requirement – basis requirements for certification and designation according to EC regulation 2096/2005, a DFS unit, controlling military air traffic over the north-west of Germany, is co-located with the civil facilities. It is the second busiest upper area Area Control Centre in Europe, in Europe, only London centre has more traffic in terms of numbers, but that is caused by a much bigger airspace range with many more sectors. Typically, air traffic control sectors at MUAC can handle 55 or more flights per hour, Maastricht UAC has undoubtedly one of the most complex airspace structures in the world where the traffic flow can be somewhat disrupted by the many surrounding military airspaces around
22.
French language
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French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
23.
International airport
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An international airport is an airport that offers customs and immigration facilities for passengers travelling between countries. International airports often also host domestic flights, some, such as Frankfurt Airport in Germany are very large, others such as Faaā International Airport in Tahiti, are quite small. Buildings, operations and management have become increasingly sophisticated since the mid 20th century, detailed technical standards have been developed to ensure safety and common coding systems implemented to provide global consistency. The physical structures that serve millions of passengers and flights are among the most complex. In August 1919, Hounslow Heath Aerodrome, in London, England was the first airport to operate scheduled international commercial services and it was closed and supplanted by Croydon Airport in March 1920. In the United States, Douglas Municipal Airport in Arizona became the first international airport of the Americas in 1928, the precursors to international airports were airfields or aerodromes. In the early days of international flights, there was limited infrastructure, four-engined land planes being unavailable for over-water operations to international destinations, thus/therefore flying boats became part of the solution. At the far end of the longest international route, on-water landing areas were found in such as Surabaya. In Sydney, Rose Bay, New South Wales, was chosen as the landing area. International airports sometimes serve military as well as commercial purposes and their viability is also affected by technological developments, other international airports, such as Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong, have been decommissioned and replaced when they reached capacity or technological advances rendered them inadequate. Airports may also be regarded as emblematic of national pride and so the design may be architecturally ambitious, an example is the planned New Mexico City international airport, intended to replace an airport that has reached capacity. Airports can be towered or non-towered, depending on air traffic density, because of high capacity and busy airspace, many international airports have air traffic control located on site. Construction of the expressway included the construction of two bridges and the Ma Wan viaduct on Ma Wan island to connect the bridges, each bridge carries rail and automobile traffic. International airports have commercial relationships with and provide services to airlines, many also serve as hubs, or places where non-direct flights may land and passengers may switch planes, while others serve primarily direct point-to-point flights. This affects airport design factors, including the number and placement of terminals as well as the flow of passengers, an airport specializing in point-to-point transit can have international and domestic terminals, each in their separate building equipped with separate baggage handling facilities. In a hub airport, however, spaces and services are shared, technical standards for safety and operating procedures at international airports are set by international agreements. The International Air Transport Association, formed in 1945, is the association of the airline companies, the International Civil Aviation Organization is a body of the United Nations succeeding earlier international committees going back to 1903. These two organizations served to create regulations over airports which the airports themselves had no authority to debate and this eventually sparked an entire subject of air travel politics
24.
Villeneuve-le-Roi
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Villeneuve-le-Roi is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 13.7 km from the center of Paris, the early 19th-century French orientalist Jean-Baptiste Rousseau was born in Villeneuve-le-Roi on the boat that arrived from Auxerre. Paris-Orly Airport is partially located in the commune, Villeneuve-le-Roi is twinned with the towns of Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, England and Vratsa, Bulgaria Villeneuve-le-Roi is served by Villeneuve-le-Roi station on Paris RER line C. The commune has a library, Bibliothèque municipale Anatole-France. Communes of the Val-de-Marne department INSEE Mayors of Essonne Association Official website
25.
Nautical mile
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A nautical mile is a unit of measurement defined as exactly 1852 meters. Historically, it was defined as one minute of latitude, which is equivalent to one sixtieth of a degree of latitude. Today it is an SI derived unit, being rounded to a number of meters. The derived unit of speed is the knot, defined as one mile per hour. The geographical mile is the length of one minute of longitude along the Equator, there is no internationally agreed symbol. M is used as the abbreviation for the mile by the International Hydrographic Organization and by the International Bureau of Weights. NM is used by the International Civil Aviation Organization, nm is used by the U. S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Nmi is used by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the word mile is from the Latin word for a thousand paces, mīlia. In 1617 the Dutch scientist Snell assessed the circumference of the Earth at 24,630 Roman miles, around that time British mathematician Edmund Gunter improved navigational tools including a new quadrant to determine latitude at sea. He reasoned that the lines of latitude could be used as the basis for a unit of measurement for distance, as one degree is 1/360 of a circle, one minute of arc is 1/21600 of a circle. These sexagesimal units originated in Babylonian astronomy, Gunter used Snells circumference to define a nautical mile as 6,080 feet, the length of one minute of arc at 48 degrees latitude.3 metres. Other countries measure the minute of arc at 45 degrees latitude, in 1929, the international nautical mile was defined by the First International Extraordinary Hydrographic Conference in Monaco as 1,852 meters. Imperial units and United States customary units used a definition of the nautical mile based on the Clarke Spheroid, the United States nautical mile was defined as 6,080.20 feet based in the Mendenhall Order foot of 1893. It was abandoned in favour of the nautical mile in 1954.181 meters. It was abandoned in 1970 and, legally, references to the unit are now converted to 1,853 meters. Conversion of units Orders of magnitude
26.
Europe
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Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
27.
Middle East
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The Middle East is a transcontinental region centered on Western Asia and Egypt. The corresponding adjective is Middle-Eastern and the noun is Middle-Easterner. The term has come into usage as a replacement of the term Near East beginning in the early 20th century. Arabs, Turks, Persians, Kurds, and Azeris constitute the largest ethnic groups in the region by population. Indigenous minorities of the Middle East include Jews, Assyrians and other Arameans, Baloch, Berbers, Copts, Druze, Lurs, Mandaeans, Samaritans, Shabaks, Tats, in the Middle East, there is also a Romani community. European ethnic groups form a diaspora in the region include Albanians, Bosniaks, Circassians, Crimean Tatars, Franco-Levantines. Among other migrant populations are Bengalis as well as other Indians, Chinese, Filipinos, Indonesians, Pakistanis, the history of the Middle East dates back to ancient times, with the importance of the region being recognized for millennia. Most of the countries border the Persian Gulf have vast reserves of crude oil. The term Middle East may have originated in the 1850s in the British India Office, however, it became more widely known when American naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan used the term in 1902 to designate the area between Arabia and India. During this time the British and Russian Empires were vying for influence in Central Asia, Mahan realized not only the strategic importance of the region, but also of its center, the Persian Gulf. Mahan first used the term in his article The Persian Gulf and International Relations, published in September 1902 in the National Review, a British journal. The Middle East, if I may adopt a term which I have not seen, will some day need its Malta, as well as its Gibraltar, it does not follow that either will be in the Persian Gulf. The British Navy should have the facility to concentrate in force if occasion arise, about Aden, India, mahans article was reprinted in The Times and followed in October by a 20-article series entitled The Middle Eastern Question, written by Sir Ignatius Valentine Chirol. During this series, Sir Ignatius expanded the definition of Middle East to include regions of Asia which extend to the borders of India or command the approaches to India. After the series ended in 1903, The Times removed quotation marks from subsequent uses of the term, in the late 1930s, the British established the Middle East Command, which was based in Cairo, for its military forces in the region. After that time, the term Middle East gained broader usage in Europe, the description Middle has also led to some confusion over changing definitions. Before the First World War, Near East was used in English to refer to the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire, while Middle East referred to Iran, the Caucasus, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Turkestan. The first official use of the term Middle East by the United States government was in the 1957 Eisenhower Doctrine, the Associated Press Stylebook says that Near East formerly referred to the farther west countries while Middle East referred to the eastern ones, but that now they are synonymous
28.
Africa
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Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.3 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earths total surface area and 20.4 % of its land area. With 1.2 billion people as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the human population. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos and it contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states, nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. Africas population is the youngest amongst all the continents, the age in 2012 was 19.7. Algeria is Africas largest country by area, and Nigeria by population, afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster – with the earliest Homo sapiens found in Ethiopia being dated to circa 200,000 years ago. Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas, it is the continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. Africa hosts a diversity of ethnicities, cultures and languages. In the late 19th century European countries colonized most of Africa, Africa also varies greatly with regard to environments, economics, historical ties and government systems. However, most present states in Africa originate from a process of decolonization in the 20th century, afri was a Latin name used to refer to the inhabitants of Africa, which in its widest sense referred to all lands south of the Mediterranean. This name seems to have referred to a native Libyan tribe. The name is connected with Hebrew or Phoenician ʿafar dust. The same word may be found in the name of the Banu Ifran from Algeria and Tripolitania, under Roman rule, Carthage became the capital of the province of Africa Proconsularis, which also included the coastal part of modern Libya. The Latin suffix -ica can sometimes be used to denote a land, the later Muslim kingdom of Ifriqiya, modern-day Tunisia, also preserved a form of the name. According to the Romans, Africa lay to the west of Egypt, while Asia was used to refer to Anatolia, as Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of Africa expanded with their knowledge. 25,4, whose descendants, he claimed, had invaded Libya, isidore of Seville in Etymologiae XIV.5.2. Suggests Africa comes from the Latin aprica, meaning sunny, massey, in 1881, stated that Africa is derived from the Egyptian af-rui-ka, meaning to turn toward the opening of the Ka. The Ka is the double of every person and the opening of the Ka refers to a womb or birthplace
29.
Caribbean
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The Caribbean is a region that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands and the surrounding coasts. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America, situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 700 islands, islets, reefs and cays. These islands generally form island arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea, in a wider sense, the mainland countries of Belize, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana are often included due to their political and cultural ties with the region. Geopolitically, the Caribbean islands are usually regarded as a subregion of North America and are organized into 30 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies. From December 15,1954, to October 10,2010, there was a known as the Netherlands Antilles composed of five states. The West Indies cricket team continues to represent many of those nations, the region takes its name from that of the Caribs, an ethnic group present in the Lesser Antilles and parts of adjacent South America at the time of the Spanish conquest. The two most prevalent pronunciations of Caribbean are KARR-ə-BEE-ən, with the accent on the third syllable. The former pronunciation is the older of the two, although the variant has been established for over 75 years. It has been suggested that speakers of British English prefer KARR-ə-BEE-ən while North American speakers more typically use kə-RIB-ee-ən, usage is split within Caribbean English itself. The word Caribbean has multiple uses and its principal ones are geographical and political. The Caribbean can also be expanded to include territories with strong cultural and historical connections to slavery, European colonisation, the United Nations geoscheme for the Americas accords the Caribbean as a distinct region within the Americas. Physiographically, the Caribbean region is mainly a chain of islands surrounding the Caribbean Sea, to the north, the region is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida and the Northern Atlantic Ocean, which lies to the east and northeast. To the south lies the coastline of the continent of South America, politically, the Caribbean may be centred on socio-economic groupings found in the region. For example, the known as the Caribbean Community contains the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos Islands, which are in the Atlantic Ocean, are members of the Caribbean Community. The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is also in the Atlantic and is a member of the Caribbean Community. According to the ACS, the population of its member states is 227 million people. The geography and climate in the Caribbean region varies, Some islands in the region have relatively flat terrain of non-volcanic origin and these islands include Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, the Cayman Islands, Saint Croix, the Bahamas, and Antigua
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North America
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North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16. 5% of the land area. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7. 5% of the worlds population, North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge. The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago, the Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era ended with the migrations and the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kind of interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants, European influences are strongest in the northern parts of the continent while indigenous and African influences are relatively stronger in the south. Because of the history of colonialism, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, the Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass previously unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a map, in which he placed the word America on the continent of South America. He explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio, for Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespuccis name, but in its feminine form America, following the examples of Europa, Asia and Africa. Later, other mapmakers extended the name America to the continent, In 1538. Some argue that the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty, a minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of Amairick. Another is that the name is rooted in a Native American language, the term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with location and context. In Canadian English, North America may be used to refer to the United States, alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands
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Southeast Asia
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Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies near the intersection of geological plates, with seismic and volcanic activity. Southeast Asia consists of two regions, Mainland Southeast Asia, also known historically as Indochina, comprising Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar. Maritime Southeast Asia, comprising Indonesia, East Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, Cocos Islands, definitions of Southeast Asia vary, but most definitions include the area represented by the countries listed below. All of the states are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the area, together with part of South Asia, was widely known as the East Indies or simply the Indies until the 20th century. Sovereignty issues exist over some territories in the South China Sea, Papua New Guinea has stated that it might join ASEAN, and is currently an observer. Southeast Asia is geographically divided into two subregions, namely Mainland Southeast Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia includes, Maritime Southeast Asia includes, The Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India are geographically considered part of Southeast Asia. Eastern Bangladesh and the Seven Sister States of India are culturally part of Southeast Asia, the eastern half of Indonesia and East Timor are considered to be biogeographically part of Oceania. Homo sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago, homo floresiensis also lived in the area up until 12,000 years ago, when they became extinct. Austronesian people, who form the majority of the population in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, East Timor. Solheim and others have shown evidence for a Nusantao maritime trading network ranging from Vietnam to the rest of the archipelago as early as 5000 BC to 1 AD. The peoples of Southeast Asia, especially those of Austronesian descent, have been seafarers for thousands of years and their vessels, such as the vinta, were ocean-worthy. Magellans voyage records how much more manoeuvrable their vessels were, as compared to the European ships, Passage through the Indian Ocean aided the colonisation of Madagascar by the Austronesian people, as well as commerce between West Asia and Southeast Asia. Gold from Sumatra is thought to have reached as far west as Rome and this was later replaced by Hinduism. Theravada Buddhism soon followed in 525, in the 15th century, Islamic influences began to enter. This forced the last Hindu court in Indonesia to retreat to Bali, in Mainland Southeast Asia, Burma, Cambodia and Thailand retained the Theravada form of Buddhism, brought to them from Sri Lanka. This type of Buddhism was fused with the Hindu-influenced Khmer culture, very little is known about Southeast Asian religious beliefs and practices before the advent of Indian merchants and religious influences from the 2nd century BCE onwards. Prior to the 13th century CE, Hinduism and Buddhism were the religions in Southeast Asia
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Charles de Gaulle Airport
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Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, also known as Roissy Airport, is the largest international airport in France. It is named after Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French Forces during the Second World War, founder of the French Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle Airport is located within portions of several communes 25 km to the northeast of Paris. The airport serves as the hub for Air France as well as a European hub for fellow SkyTeam alliance partner Delta Air Lines. In 2016, the airport handled 65,933,145 passengers and 472,950 aircraft movements, thus making it the worlds ninth-busiest airport and it is also the worlds tenth-busiest and it is Europes second-busiest airport in aircraft movements. In terms of traffic, the airport is the twelfth-busiest in the world. The incumbent director of the airport, Franck Goldnadel, was appointed to his position on 1 March 2011, Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport covers 32.38 square kilometres of land. Management of the airport lies solely on the authority of Paris Aéroport, which also manages Orly, Le Bourget, Marsa Alam in Egypt, the planning and construction phase of what was known then as Aéroport de Paris Nord began in 1966. On 8 March 1974 the airport, renamed Charles de Gaulle Airport, Terminal 1 was built in an avant-garde design of a ten-floors-high circular building surrounded by seven satellite buildings, each with six gates allowing sunlight to enter through apertures. The main architect was Paul Andreu, who was also in charge of the extensions during the following decades, the Frutiger typeface was commissioned for use in the airport and implemented on signs throughout the building in 1975. Initially called Roissy, it was renamed after its designer Adrian Frutiger, until 2005, every PA announcement made at Terminal 1 was preceded by a distinctive chime, nicknamed Indicatif Roissy and composed by Bernard Parmegiani in 1971. The chime can be heard in the Roman Polanski film Frantic, the chime was officially replaced by the Indicatif ADP chime. Charles de Gaulle Airport has three terminals, Terminal 1 is the oldest and situated opposite to Terminal 3, Terminal 2 is located at another side with 7 sub-terminal buildings. Terminal 2 was originally exclusively for Air France, since then it has been expanded significantly. Terminals 2A to 2F are interconnected by elevated walkways and situated next to each other, Terminal 2G is a satellite building connected by shuttle bus. Terminal 3 hosts charter and low-cost airlines, the CDGVAL light-rail shuttle connects Terminal 2 to Terminals 1/3 and their parking lots. Refer to Ground Transportation below for inter-terminal transfers and transport to central Paris, the first terminal, designed by Paul Andreu, was built in the image of an octopus. It consists of a terminal building which houses key functions such as check-in counters. Seven satellites with boarding gates are connected to the building by underground walkways
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Departments of France
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In the administrative divisions of France, the department is one of the three levels of government below the national level, between the administrative regions and the commune. There are 96 departments in metropolitan France and 5 overseas departments, each department is administered by an elected body called a departmental council. From 1800 to April 2015, they were called general councils, the departments were created in 1791 as a rational replacement of Ancien Régime provinces with a view to strengthen national unity, the title department is used to mean a part of a larger whole. Almost all of them were named after geographical features rather than after historical or cultural territories which could have their own loyalties. The earliest known suggestion of it is from 1764 in the writings of dArgenson and they have inspired similar divisions in many countries, some of them former French colonies. Most French departments are assigned a number, the Official Geographical Code. Some overseas departments have a three-digit number, the number is used, for example, in the postal code, and was until recently used for all vehicle registration plates. For example, inhabitants of Loiret might refer to their department as the 45 and this reform project has since been abandoned. The first French territorial departments were proposed in 1665 by Marc-René dArgenson to serve as administrative areas purely for the Ponts et Chaussées infrastructure administration, before the French Revolution, France gained territory gradually through the annexation of a mosaic of independent entities. By the close of the Ancien Régime, it was organised into provinces, during the period of the Revolution, these were dissolved, partly in order to weaken old loyalties. Their boundaries served two purposes, Boundaries were chosen to break up Frances historical regions in an attempt to erase cultural differences, Boundaries were set so that every settlement in the country was within a days ride of the capital of the department. This was a security measure, intended to keep the national territory under close control. This measure was directly inspired by the Great Terror, during which the government had lost control of rural areas far from any centre of government. The old nomenclature was carefully avoided in naming the new departments, most were named after an areas principal river or other physical features. Even Paris was in the department of Seine, the number of departments, initially 83, was increased to 130 by 1809 with the territorial gains of the Republic and of the First French Empire. Following Napoleons defeats in 1814-1815, the Congress of Vienna returned France to its pre-war size, in 1860, France acquired the County of Nice and Savoy, which led to the creation of three new departments. Two were added from the new Savoyard territory, while the department of Alpes-Maritimes was created from Nice, the 89 departments were given numbers based on their alphabetical order. The department of Bas-Rhin and parts of Meurthe, Moselle, Vosges and Haut-Rhin were ceded to the German Empire in 1871, following Frances defeat in the Franco-Prussian War
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Communes of France
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The commune is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to civil townships incorporated municipalities in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany, the United Kingdom has no exact equivalent, as communes resemble districts in urban areas, but are closer to parishes in rural areas where districts are much larger. Communes are based on historical geographic communities or villages and have received significant powers of governance to manage the populations, the communes are the fourth-level administrative divisions of France. A French commune may be a city of 2.2 million inhabitants like Paris, communes typically are based on pre-existing villages and facilitate local governance. All communes have names, but not all named geographic areas or groups of people residing together are communes, a commune is a town, city, or municipality. Use of commune in English is a habit, and one that might be corrected. There is nothing in commune in French that is different from town in English. The French word commune appeared in the 12th century, from Medieval Latin communia, as of January 2015, there were 36,681 communes in France,36,552 of them in metropolitan France and 129 of them overseas. This is a higher total than that of any other European country. The whole territory of the French Republic is divided into communes and this is unlike some other countries, such as the United States, where unincorporated areas directly governed by a county or a higher authority can be found. There are only a few exceptions, COM of Saint-Martin and it was previously a commune inside the Guadeloupe région. The commune structure was abolished when Saint-Martin became an overseas collectivity on 22 February 2007, COM of Wallis and Futuna, which still is divided according to the three traditional chiefdoms. It was previously a commune inside the Guadeloupe region, the commune structure was abolished when Saint-Barthélemy became an overseas collectivity on 22 February 2007.88 square kilometres. The median area of metropolitan Frances communes at the 1999 census was even smaller, the median area is a better measure of the area of a typical French commune. This median area is smaller than that of most European countries. In Italy, the area of communes is 22 km2, in Belgium it is 40 km2, in Spain it is 35 km2, and in Germany. Switzerland and the Länder of Rhineland-Palatinate, Schleswig-Holstein, and Thuringia in Germany were the places in Europe where the communes had a smaller median area than in France. The communes of Frances overseas départements such as Réunion and French Guiana are large by French standards and they usually group into the same commune several villages or towns, often with sizeable distances among them
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Paray-Vieille-Poste
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Paray-Vieille-Poste is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Paris-Orly Airport is partially located in the commune, inhabitants of Paray-Vieille-Poste are known as Paraysiens. Paray-Vieille-Poste originated from the old village of Paray, which had about 60 residents in 1790, the name Paray-Vieille-Poste first appeared in 1923. By 1928 the population swelled to 3,000 residents, at the time streets had not yet been built, and running water had not yet been installed. The Sarraut law of 15 March 1928 lead to the establishment of vital infrastructure. In 1931 Paray-Vieille-Poste received electricity and water connections, and the work was completed by 1933, the commune was affected by World War II bombings against Orly Airport. Transavia. com France has its office in Paray Vieille Poste. OpenSkies is headquartered in Paray Vieille Poste, prior to its re-establishment as OpenSkies, the airline LAvion was headquartered in that location. Kyocera Fineceramics Group has its centre in Orlytech in Paray-Vieille-Poste. Prior to its disestablishment, Air Inter had its office in the commune. AOM French Airlines had its office in Building 363 at Orly Airport. After AOM and Air Liberté merged in 2001, the new airline occupied building 363, schools in Paray-Vieille-Poste include École Maternelle Victor-Hugo, École Primaire Jules-Ferry, École Paul-Bert, and Collège Pierre-de-Ronsard. As of 2016440 students attend Collège Pierre-de-Ronsard, the Saint-Exupéry Library serves the village. Communes of the Essonne department INSEE Mayors of Essonne Association Official website Mérimée database - Cultural heritage Land use
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Wissous
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Wissous is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Paris-Orly Airport is partially located in the commune, inhabitants of Wissous are known as Wissoussiens. Wissous appears in an 11th-century French manuscript as a town called Vizoor, the first mayor of Wissous was elected in 1790. Wissous experienced significant development since the beginning of the 20th century, Wissous is located in the Longboyau plain, between the valleys of the Bièvre, the Orge, the Seine, and the Yvette. OpenSkies, an airline, is headquartered in Paray Vieille Poste, prior to its re-establishment as OpenSkies, the airline LAvion was headquartered in that location. Kyocera Fineceramics Group has its centre in Orlytech in Paray-Vieille-Poste. Schools in Wissous include, Groupe scolaire Victor-Baloche Ecole maternelle La Fontaine Ecole élémentaire La Fontaine The commune includes a library, the coat of arms contains three fleurs de lys, symbolizing Ile-de-France, on an azure background. On a red background, there are six ears of corn, each two ears have one gear underneath, the gears represent the importance of economic activity. The communes logo, placed on documents, has one fleur de lys, one gear. Communes of the Essonne department INSEE Mayors of Essonne Association Official website Old official website Mérimée database - Cultural heritage Land use
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Athis-Mons
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Athis-Mons is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 16.5 km from the center of Paris, a small part of Orly International Airport lies on the territory of the commune of Athis-Mons. Athis-Mons was formed in 1817 by joining two villages, Athis and Mons, nowadays the lower area of the commune is commonly called Athis-Val. A significant portion of Athis-Mons was destroyed during the Allied bombing raid of 18 April 1944, approximately 300 people died and 4,000 people were left homeless. Athis-Mons had to be rebuilt after the war. Athis-Mons is located at the confluence of Orge and Seine rivers, the canton of Athis-Mons has 2 communes and 36,615 inhabitants. Athis-Mons is a town of Ballina in Ireland. Athis-Mons is served by Athis-Mons station on Paris RER line C, the commune has nine preschools and eight elementary schools
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Chilly-Mazarin
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Chilly-Mazarin is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 16.9 km from the center of Paris, a small part of Orly International Airport lies on the territory of the commune of Chilly-Mazarin. Inhabitants of Chilly-Mazarin are known as Chiroquois, Chilly-Mazarin is served by Chilly-Mazarin station on Paris RER line C
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Media related to Paris-Orly Airport at Wikimedia Commons
Paris Orly Airport travel guide from Wikivoyage
