Paris Built a Space-Age Airport Terminal In 1974 - CDG Trminal 1

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:00]Charles de Gaulle Airport's Terminal 1 opened in 1974 [music] and has never looked like any other airport in the world.

[00:00:07]It is a seven-story circular concrete pod connected [music] to a ring of satellite gates by transparent tubes where passengers ride escalators through open air.

[00:00:15]>> [music] >> Architect Paul Andre designed it with one rule, minimize walking distance.

[00:00:20]Every single [music] gate is the same distance from check-in.

[00:00:24]No long corridors.

[00:00:26]Luggage moves below [music] on separate conveyor belts completely out of sight.

[00:00:30]The design was radical [music] and influential.

[00:00:33]But the circle was too rigid to expand.

[00:00:35]When air travel grew beyond the original [music] plan, Terminal 1 could not adapt.

[00:00:40]Today it is a protected French historic monument where newer expandable terminals handle most of CDG's traffic.