HEBRON — The orange barricades blocking off the best parking spaces at the local airport since just after Sept. 11 could be gone as soon as Wednesday.

        On Monday, the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport was granted an exemption to a post-Sept. 11 rule that required all cars to be parked at least 300 feet away from terminals.

        The Federal Aviation Administration implemented the rule soon after the attacks for fear of a car bomb.

        Airport officials said Monday it would probably take about two days to remove all the barricades, which had cordoned off the 2,000 parking spaces closest to Delta Air Lines' Terminal 3 and to Terminal 1.

        The FAA granted the exemption after airport officials submitted the results of an $18,000 study that showed the parking structure and the terminal could withstand a car bomb, according to airport director of operations Dale Keith.

        “They've done this with a lot of airports,” Mr. Keith said, adding that 50 to 60 spots closest to the terminals would be restricted to vehicles 5-foot-5-inches or smaller.

        Airport director of finance Sheila Hammons said that between losing the spaces and a drop in traffic, parking revenues have been down about $800,000, or 19 percent for the year so far compared with 2001.

        “This should help offset the revenue losses,” Ms. Hammons said.

        The news came as airport officials celebrated the official resumption of a flight to Paris offered by Air France.

        The Paris-based carrier had suspended its daily flight to and from Charles DeGaulle Airport due to a drop in traffic caused by last year's Comair strike.

        The first plane to arrive since July's suspension was met Monday evening with a water cannon salute and cheers from a gathering of airline and airport officials alongside the runway. The Boeing 767 was sold out for its first flight from Paris.

        In addition, the airport board approved five new concessions contracts that added several national retailers and restaurant chains to the facility's lineup. Starbucks will now have three locations; Brookstone and Johnston & Murphy shoes are opening stores; and In-Motion Pictures is opening a DVD rental store.

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