Charles de Gaulle Airport several smaller airfields in the suburbs of Paris, and other airports directly or indirectly worldwide. The planning and construction phase of what was known then as "Aéroport de Paris Nord" (Paris North Airport) began in 1966. On 8 March 1974 the airport, renamed Charles de Gaulle Airport, opened. Terminal 1 was built in an avant-garde design of a ten-floors-high circular building surrounded by seven satellite buildings, each with six gates allowing sunlight to enter through apertures. The main architect was Paul Andreu, who was also in charge of the extensions during the following decades. Following the introduction of the brand
Glasgow Prestwick Airport this tough time in the airport's history, saying that "if it hadn't been for Matthew Hudson the airport wouldn't be here today". In 1994, Irish budget airline Ryanair opened a route to the airport from Dublin, followed by a second route in 1995 to London Stansted. In 1998, a third route to Paris-Beauvais was introduced and Prestwick Airport was subsequently sold by Hudson to the Scottish transport company Stagecoach Group, which then sold it to Infratil in 2001. The resulting rapid growth of Ryanair's low-cost routes saw a peak in passenger numbers, with Prestwick carrying over 1,000,000 passengers in 2001.