‘Float like a butterfly’ – ‘Devil’s Island’ nation French Guiana seeks concession for main airport

The concessioning of airports has taken a back seat in recent years in France, but it is still alive and kicking in France's widespread overseas territories. The airport at Cayenne, capital of French Guiana where the country's international space centre is located, has been on the market for most of 2022. Responses to an RfQ were required by end of Jun-2022.

Allowing for the interest in the concession of Bridgetown Airport in Barbados, where there are 13 interested parties, suggests something similar for Cayenne; but there are indications that a consortium, a member of which already runs the airport, is in with a very good chance of winning.

Whoever triumphs faces the real prospect of attracting tourism (but to an airport that has few routes and none on its own continent) while also influencing provision of supporting infrastructure - notable for its absence.

Not quite so arduous a sentence as that imposed on the country's most famous tourist, Papillon, but one that will provide food for thought.