CIMC’s 184 Boarding Bridges Shine at French Airports

The 33rd Summer Olympic Games is about to be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11. 184 boarding bridges built by CIMC are facilitating the swift and efficient movement of athletes at the Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport and the Orly Airport in Paris, which are the entry and exit ports of all the Olympic delegations, demonstrating the might of “Made in China” to the world.

CIMC’s Boarding Bridges at the Charles de Gaulle Airport

This marks CIMC’s another significant contribution to facilitating top-tier international sporting events, having previously supported the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.

According to reports, the two French airports are bracing for a surge of up to 350,000 daily transits during the Games, including most athletes, delegation members, Olympic committee specialists, and media personnel. On July 15, members of the table tennis team representing China at the Olympic Games arrived at Paris via the Charles de Gaulle Airport

Charles de Gaulle Airport, Europe’s second-largest international aviation hub, has 113 CIMC boarding bridges. Similarly, CIMC has supplied over 90% of the boarding bridges at the Orly Airport, France’s second-largest passenger airport, with a total of 71 bridges.

The Olympic Games is never just a competition of athletes on the field, and it is also a competition in service quality and reputation off the field.

To ensure the stability and safety of boarding bridge operations during the Olympics, the resident airport project team of CIMC Tianda, has redoubled their efforts by augmenting manpower, intensifying inspection schedules, and bolstering spare parts inventory. The team is also closely collaborating with airport authorities to enhance response efficiency.

At the Orly Airport, the project team has implemented a 24-hour, three-shift system and temporarily hired 6 additional professionals in addition to existing 9 French employees in the team, to stand by near the lounge bridge of each terminal and ensure the quick arrival at the scene within five minutes upon request, providing solid support for the mobility of all event personnel.

Talking about the Charles de Gaulle Airport, CIMC’s strong connections with it can date back to 18 years ago. Airbus A308, known as a Superjumbo, is eight-story in height and has a capacity of up to 840 passengers, which poses unprecedented challenges on the design of boarding bridges

Traditional boarding bridges are five meters in height and have good stability, which are not good enough for A380. Fortunately, CIMC’s employees are not freighted by the difficulties. Zheng Zuhua, Managing Director of CIMC Tianda, drew inspiration from the principle of equilibrium that a child rides a bicycle, ingeniously incorporated it into the design of boarding bridges and creatively developed the main and auxiliary wheel plan to improve stability. This innovative effort pioneers the four-wheel boarding bridges in the world and successfully opens a new market of boarding bridges for large aircrafts

Since the successful delivery of 4 A380-specific boarding bridges customized by CIMC Tianda for Charles de Gaulle Airport in 2006, CIMC’ boarding bridges officially entered the central market of Europe and opened a new chapter in the international stage.

As a recognized “world champion” in boarding bridge manufacturing, CIMC Tianda has provided, or will soon deliver, over 10,000 boarding bridges to 419 airports in 89 countries and regions across five continents, building bridges for international exchange and becoming an iconic symbol of “Made in China” to the world.