PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This morning Aéroports de Paris (Paris:ADP) (Pink Sheets:AEOPF) Deputy CEO, François Rubichon unveiled the AC connecting building, the new facility that will transform passengers experience in Terminals 2A and 2C at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport.

The first step in a vast renovation project for Terminals 2A and 2C, the 16,600 m² connecting building now links up the two terminals, offering passengers significant gains in time and comfort.

The central building –the fruit of a 71 million-euro investment– will ultimately handle more than 5 million passengers a year.

Making things clearer for the passenger: one floor, one function

Designed to facilitate passenger orientation, the AC connecting building is also an opportunity to completely rethink the way these two terminals –housing mainly Oneworld Alliance airlines– are operated.

• After check-in, either at Terminal 2A or 2C, passengers are directed to the large area dedicated exclusively to passenger control, on the ground level of the building. With its 14 Police checkpoints (passport control) and 14 security checkpoints, this 3,400m² space will reduce the time required to go through border controls;
• Passengers then advance to Level 1, with its shops, bars, restaurants and Parisian boutiques. They will walk through the largest retail area ever opened at a Paris airport (1,300 m2), built in the style of a department store. After that they can stroll down the "Avenue", where the finest luxury brands and gourmet restaurants stand side by side, in the image of the Avenue Montaigne in Paris;

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A chic pre-flight shopping moment
A range of prestigious brands enables passengers to prolong the Parisian shopping experience until boarding. The line-up already includes the chic boutiques of such big-name brands as Bulgari, Burberry, Gucci, Hermès, Prada, Rolex and, shortly, Dior.
And for gastronomic delights, passengers can choose between Fauchon, Ladurée, Caviar House and Maison du Chocolat.

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The on-going transformation of Terminals 2A and 2C

The connecting building is the first step in a total renovation of Terminals 2A and 2C, to be completed in the second half of 2013.
At the end of 2012, in Terminal 2A, Aéroports de Paris will offer its passengers a renovated boarding lounge and a new 1,000m² arrivals hall.
In the 2nd half of 2013, the revamping will conclude with the renovation of the terminals’ public areas.
The work on these terminals, including the new connecting building, represents an investment of 104 million euros.