Aveyron: who will operate the Rodez-Paris air route after August 19 ?

Jusqu’au 19 août, Amelia assure les liaisons aériennes Rodez-Paris. Centre Presse – JOSE A. TORRES

La compagnie Amelia assure la liaison et s’est portée candidate pour repartir jusqu’en 2028. Mais un concurrent de taille s’est invité : Volotea. Réponse attendue le 12 août.

A weekend in Paris in the heart of August ? A professional meeting to schedule for the start of the school year ? Arm yourself with patience! The Aveyronnais going to the capital by plane must get used to living in discomfort: it is now impossible to book a flight after August 19. That is, in about two weeks… This was expected after the imbroglio at the beginning of the year on this so-called regional planning line: the call for tenders to award this connection to a company until 2028 was declared « unsuccessful», the proposal of the sole candidate Chalair Aviation having failed to attract local politicians.

Volotea in the race 

In January, a new call for tenders was launched, let's say in a hurry, and an emergency solution was found with the company in place since 2020, Amelia, to continue flights until August 19. In the process, it submitted its application for the 2024-2028 period. But if we could think that it would be alone and largely in pole position – its managers also told us this week that they were ready to continue flights, without stopping, from August 20 – things do not seem so simple.

Indeed, a new major competitor has entered the fray: Volotea. The Spanish company, specializing in low-cost across Europe and present in all the major airports in France, is even said to be of particular interest to Arnaud Viala, whose relations with his Aveyron counterpart Alain Regourd, CEO of Amelia, have rarely been good.

Response on August 12?

Asked about the subject, after a meeting last Friday, the President of the Department refused to comment on the subject: « “It's confidential,” he said, thus respecting the secrecy of the call for tenders. It runs until Sunday, August 11, and we can therefore expect communication the following day. That is just a week before the end of flights operated by Amelia, and that's without taking into account the possible appeals of the losers…

A period so short that it once again casts doubt on the continuity of services for users and businesses, the vast majority of whom use the line. This does not help the eternal question of opening up.
 

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