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As eurostar Celebrating 31 years of monopoly on passenger rail from London through the Channel Tunnel ParisAirlines are moving forward flights between the two capitals to attract travelers trains,
By spring 2026, their number will exceed 50 flights A day between five London airports and two Paris hubs.
From 5th March, easyJet Restores a link between Stansted Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG). Britain’s biggest budget airline already flies French Three other capitals from London airports: Gatwick, Luton and Southend.
Now Air France is to launch two daily round-trips between Paris CDG and Gatwick – a total of four flights per day. The link launches on 29 March 2026 in direct competition against easyJet.
Air France already connects Heathrow to its main hub at CDG, as does British Airways. In addition, BA’s sister airline, Vueling, has flights from Gatwick to Paris Orly, the city’s other airport.
In total, there will be 27 flights between London and Paris on Fridays from April 2026, compared to 18 Eurostar trains.
Eurostar will still carry the majority of passengers between the two cities, attracted by the fast journey times between city center to city centre, the absence of airport stress and generous luggage allowances.
But airlines believe they can profit from potential rail travelers who fear high train fares – especially for short-notice trips.
For long weekend travel from Friday 3 to Monday 6 April 2026, the lowest return fare is £104 on both Eurostar from London St Pancras International and easyJet from Southend to Stansted.
But given late notice, Channel Tunnel rail operators can be much more expensive than airlines. Booking on Thursday afternoon, 4 December, for a one-way journey from London to Paris the next day, the cheapest Eurostar deal is £196. This only applies for departures at 6.01am; Tickets for later trains cost £219 or £242 in standard class.
By contrast, the cheapest flight – from Southend to Paris CDG on easyJet – is just £68, barely a third of the Eurostar price. Seven other departures on different routes are available at less than half the Eurostar fare.
Air France will hope to capitalize on some useful “point-to-point traffic” between Gatwick and Paris CDG. But the French airline’s main objective is to feed passengers from south of London through its hub to destinations around the world.
Aviation analyst Sean Moulton said: “While Eurostar is not planning to reintroduce trains from Kent any time soon, Air France is helping to fill the connectivity void between the south coast and Paris.
“But London Gatwick has struggled to retain its ‘legacy carrier’ in recent years. Despite KLM serving 18 UK airports, it does not serve Gatwick – partly due to the volume of flights at Britain’s two busiest airports.”
Eurostar declined to comment on the new flights.