A time threatened with closure, the Paris-Issy-les-Moulineaux heliport – recently renamed in honor of helicopter pilot Valérie André – finally has a bright future ahead of it, while an agreement seems to have been reached between the State and Paris on this subject. Good news for the mayor of Issy-les-Moulineaux (92), André Santini.
For the man who has been mayor of Issy-les-Moulineaux for more than forty-two years and who is none other than the nephew of the air force helicopter pioneer, Colonel Alexis Santini (1914-1997) , the heliport is an “indispensable” structure, “the cradle of world aviation”, which has its place in the heart of the city. A fine connoisseur of the place, he comes back to us on his story.
It would seem that an agreement has been reached between the city of Paris and the State to keep the heliport in operation, on the condition that part of the site be handed over to the town hall for the extension of the Parc Suzanne Lenglen. Does the Isséenne municipality agree with this project?
The municipality of Issy-les-Moulineaux welcomes the State’s decision to maintain the heliport now called Paris-Issy-les-Moulineaux-Valérie André heliport. Alongside the State, we have always expressed our wish to maintain the heliport. It is essential for the exercise of public service missions.
The agreement reached by the State and the City of Paris makes it possible to retain the current heliport with all its characteristics. The length of the runway will be maintained in particular, which allows helicopters to have more fuel and to cover longer distances to carry out rescue missions in particular. The essential is therefore guaranteed.
Can you explain the attachment of the city of Issy-les-Moulineaux to this heliport?
First of all, this land is the cradle of world aviation. In 1907, the brothers Charles and Gabriel Voisin settled on the edge of the maneuvering field to carry out their tests there. The Caudron brothers set up a flight school there. Henry Farman made his first leap on September 30, then a few hundred meters at an altitude of 15 m on October 23.
On December 18, 1907, a 150m competition was organized in Issy: the Blériot airplane took off and crashed, the pilot was safe and sound. On January 13, 1908, Henry Farman achieved the first controlled powered flight. With the Voisin brothers’ Antoinette biplane, he made a one-kilometre loop above the Issy airfield, with a turn 15 m above the ground.
In 1922, this land saw the first helicopter flightsAndre Santini
Later, in 1922, this land sees the first flights of helicopters. The Marquis Pateras-Pescara makes first flights of more than one minute. In 1924, a helicopter flies more than ten minutes and reaches the kilometer, twice in a row. On April 18, 1924, at the request of the French flying club, the world distance record for a helicopter was recorded (736 m).
Secondly, this major infrastructure for public service flights is an asset for a capital like Paris which cannot do without a heliport. This site is strategic both for the civil security of our fellow citizens and for the attractiveness of our territory.
It allows optimal operation of public health and public safety service missions. In terms of health, the rapid transfer of patients to Parisian hospitals is a major issue. […] emergency medical evacuation operations represent more than 3,000 movements each year from or to the heliport.
And in terms of the security of the capital, the heliport hosts rescue missions and police surveillance operations.
An essential infrastructure then?
It is also essential to meet sovereign and crisis management needs. The heliport is regularly used by political authorities and by foreign heads of state (about fifty such movements per year). Its proximity to Paris is practical, less costly and safer than other solutions.
It also hosts surveillance missions from the Ministry of the Interior. The heliport fulfills other essential functions in the capital, serving as a platform for private operators known as “aerial work”, in charge of specific missions such as interventions at height, the handling of large equipment… This is the case, for example, of RTE, whose devices intervene in an emergency in the event of a power supply problem in the Paris region.
Lastly, the heliport is an anchor point for supporting major economic, cultural and sporting events, as will be the case for the 2024 Olympic Games. part thanks to the heliport.
How do you respond to residents who find it too noisy?
I answer them first that in recent years enormous efforts have been made. Indeed, whereas in 1989 there were 32,000 movements per year, today there are only 10,000. This significant drop is mainly due to the decline in trade movements.
Helicopter traffic in 2020 fell further (-29.7%). The BGTN (Air Transport Gendarmerie Brigade), which now centralizes complaints, only recorded 4 in 2020, compared to 7 in 2019.
Likewise, it has not initiated any proceedings against helicopter pilots in 2020. So it cannot be said that there are many complaints. Next, with regard to noise, I note that Bruitparif [l’Observatoire du bruit en Ile-de-France, ndlr] recorded a decrease of -1.3 dB between 2019 and 2020.