Description & Facts: Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (IATA: CDG, ICAO: LFPG) (French: Aeroport Paris-Charles de Gaulle), also known as Roissy Airport (or just Roissy in French), in the Paris area, is one of the world's principal aviation centres, as well as France's main International Airport. It is named after Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970), leader of the Free French Forces and founder of the French Fifth Republic. It is located within portions of several communes, 25 km (16 mi) to the north-east of Paris. The airport serves as the principal hub for Air France. In 2008, Charles de Gaulle Airport handled 60,851,998 passengers and 559,812 aircraft movements, making it the world's fifth busiest airport in terms of passengers, and Europe's second busiest (world's 8th busiest) airport after London Heathrow airport in terms of aircraft movements. In terms of cargo traffic, the airport is the busiest in Europe and the world's 7th busiest, having handled 2,280,049 metric tonnes of cargo. The planning and construction phase of what was known then as Aeroport de Paris Nord (Paris North Airport) began in 1966. On 8 March 1974 the airport, renamed Charles de Gaulle International Airport, began service. Terminal 1 was built to an avant-garde design of a ten-floor high circular building surrounded by seven satellite buildings each with four gates. The main architect was Paul Andreu, who was also in charge of the extensions during the following decades. The grassy lands on which the airport is located are notorious for rabbits and hares, which can be seen by airplane passengers at certain times of the day. The airport organizes periodic hunts and captures to keep the population to manageable levels.