WORLD'S BEST AIRPORT   Nominate Your Choice!

Paris CDG Airport review by Nick Biskinis
19 January 2007

How France, with a strong history of 'Les Grands Projets' and transport infrastructure development managed to conceive such a dismal airport devoid at every level of practicality is a mystery. The RER (suburban metro) station for CDG Terminal 1 is situated far away from the actual terminal necessitating a further bus journey, which is inconvenient for passengers. The Terminal 2 complex (in every sense of the word) was part of a grand design that went wrong. The Terminal is not one but a clusters of mini-terminals (called Halls in France) called 2A, 2B etc. Trouble is that with the exception of 2F they have limited gate capacity so that not many planes can use each 'Hall. Furthermore this means some of these Halls are situated far apart. The result is transferring within these terminals either requires a farirly long walk (and you cannot use the luggage trolleys beyond one of the mini-terminals) or else have to wait for one of the inter-terminal buses. Yet often the road is cluttered with traffic as cars/buses do not have enough space to park next to the terminal for dropping off passengers. So the inter-terminal buses themselves are often delayed. Paris CDG is trying to remedy this with a new inter-terminal railway - Roissyval - but that keeps being delayed (i notice that under the advert proclaiming an opening date of 'August 2006 someone wrote 'In God we trust'). Much of the Terminal 2 complex has dated badly and inside is cluttered. In some respects CDG Terminal 2 looks like a grandiose version of Heathrow, but with all the drawbacks of lack of space and concrete ambience. Terminal 2F is the only part of the airport that is genuinely well-designed and pleasant to use. Not surprising that Air France is trying to consolidate as many of its flights there as possible. Paris CDG is a mess, and you have to assume that the airport's growth is propelled by its one trump card which is large runway capacity. But long-term the poor organisation and lay-out of Paris CDG will harm Air France's obvious ambitions to be the leading transfer airline. Paris CDG could have been a great airport had it stuck to a more rational vision of unified Terminal buildings and properly situated transport hubs for rail and bus. You get the impression that somewhere along the way rationalism was jettisoned in favour of an over-amibitious vision that got lost in the concrete jungle. It is ironic that countries often have bad airports because they are obsessed with presenting the right image. What this means is that they forget the basics of an airport as mode of convenience and instead go for architectural excess that proves impractical down the line with compromises to fit the 'vision'. Instead airports should be kept as rational as possible and as convenient in lay-out. When this is established then you can embellish a terminal stylistically. Airports like Amsterdam, Munich, Athens prove the point. As Paris CDG will no doubt expand, you hope that when they build new terminals they learn from their mistakes. Errors in planning cannot be rubbed out, other than with a bulldozer.

Paris CDG Airport review by J Rundo
20 December 2006

Nobody has mentioned what I find to be the worst thing about CDG: the poor lighting: I usually return home to Milan with a flight in the evening and I find it so miserable in the semi-darkness of CDG - let alone those "subterranean" cafés where everything is finished by 800pm.

Paris CDG Airport review by J Bertani
27 November 2006

Frequently transiting in CDG I agree it is not passenger friendly place. Waiting in the landside can be very boring due to the non existence of shops there. Terminal 2ABCD are just not up to date to accommodate so many passengers and flights. As previously suggested, in order to avoid massive lines at the transit security desks, go out through immigration at the arrival and take a short walk to your terminal of departure. That will make your life easier especially at peak hours.

Paris CDG Airport review by J Kemp
21 November 2006

Nothing is either easy or pleasant about CDG, regardless of the terminal you happen to be using. I am a frequent traveller based in Paris and have no choice but to use this facility, and I must say that amongst the major airhubs in the world, CDG is by any measure the worst. I have written my critique of this facility in these columns before, and 6 years on, if anything, things have gotten worse. Check-in, particularly in 2A/B/C/D is beyond chaotic, particularly at peak travel times. There is literally not enough room to queue, and getting through security on time is a virtual nightmare. There are no priority channels, and in any event there are too few channels, period. In the terminal itself, again regardless which one of the 7 terminals you may be in, seating is poor, toilets tend to be filthy and few in number, and restaurants and coffee shops definitely lacking. Staff tend to be unhelpful and unpleasant, and give the impression that they could not care less, whether they are selling a € 100 bottle of perfume or a packet of chewing gum. Obtaining information can be very challenging, and if you don't speak French, either buy a dictionary or pray. If you are connecting in CDG, forget the dictionary, just pray! If you can avoid CDG altogether, you'll be a happier person for doing so.

Paris CDG Airport review by L Thiry
17 October 2006

I often travel between Detroit and Paris, and I always dread the time I must spend at CDG. Horrible is too kind of a word to describe this place. Way too busy, poorly organized, dirty are words that describe it well. Bathrooms tend to be dirty, and I have even experienced trying to wash my hands in a bathroom that had no functioning running water. Very inaccessible for elderly, physically challenged, or people travelling with small children. Deplaning is done with the antiquated staircase that hooks up to the plane. This is followed my a long, crowded, bumpy bus ride. The convenience of having the TGV station right inside the airport is a plus, but it too poses problems for those with mobility problems, or those simply burdened with luggage. There is limited elevator access down to the station level (I think there are only 4 elevators--not adequate during busy travel periods.). Your other choice is to take escalators. Not easy with several large bags. Last time I flew out of CDG they incorrectly posted the gate number for Detroit, then neglected to inform the passengers. We had to ask several people, and I think they changed our gate about 5 times before getting it correct. I don't know who designed this place, but they certainly neglected the architectural rule of form following function. The most unfunctional passenger unfriendly airport I've seen--unfortunately it's the only international airport in France, and it will continue to be an unpleasant part of my life.

Paris CDG Airport review by Jochen Iwan
15 October 2006

I'm frequently using CDG as transit airport with AF for flights from Zurich to Asian destinations. I flew 5 times this year via CDG and 3 times my luggage went lost. Even I got the luggage back within 1-2 days later I cannot understand how this can be and how AF can offer to the customers flights with 1 hour transit time only, When you have to change the terminals, 2 hours would be the minimum time which is required to pass the overloaded security checks and to drive with the packed transit buses to your transit terminal. May be a useful hint to save time on transit at CDG: Instead of queuing at the sometimes impossible long lines at the security checks in the transit ways you can pass the immigration and after the arrival hall you go up to the departure hall where the queues are normally in an acceptable length.

Paris CDG Airport review by Martin Thomsin
30 September 2006

The worst airport terminal (2B) I have ever visited. Signage is apalling, especially upon arrival where you haven't a clue where to go to find immigration. The RER is not sign-posted until you are practically at it and once you are there you can't buy a ticket at the machines with notes or non-French credit cards (you only find that out after queuing for 15 minutes.) You then join the enormous queue for the ticket-office. To check-in you have to pass through passport control first which could confuse many and I was refused entry without a hard copy of my e-ticket. Just what is the point of an e-ticket one wonders. And once you check in there are approx 10 seats for the entire travelling public, unless you go straight through to the departure lounge where there are no services. Total and utter chaos.

Paris CDG Airport review by Jeremy Irwin-Singer
27 September 2006

We were unlucky enough to travel through this airport on our way to Madagascar. The flight in was fine, but that was where it ended. Designed in the '60s and '70s, it has these so called "Satellites" which contain the gates. This means walking distances are huge, signage is difficult to read, the building is damp and is littered with rubbish. The central circle of Terminal 1 has no room for expansion, so terminals 2 and 3 are miles away, by bus, which is infrequent and badly signed. We ended up going around our plane twice. We only found out after we came back that Terminal 2A is Terminal 2 Satellite A. This information would have been helpful, but was nowhere to be seen. On our way back, we missed our connection, due to the stupid busses. Again we travelled around our plane, and even saw it leave. There were no toilets anywhere; one couple with their infant son were forced to let him pea in a flower pot, because there were no toilets in the departure gates! Finding a restaurant was another problem, the food tasted foul, and was located miles away from where the departure gates were. Terminal 1 (I think) where the baggage reclaim is has stupid people movers which interweave each other to get around the central dome, with zero signposts, so we could not collect our baggage easily. We were relieved when we got back to Heathrow, as it was a thousand times better. Avoid at all costs.

Paris CDG Airport review by Peter O'Brien
6 September 2006

CDG is under extensive renovation. You should give yourself at least 2 hours for connections. On a recent flight from PHL to Rome on AF with a connection in CDG we missed the connection. Problem is that we parked on the apron and were bused over to a transfer terminal and then reboarded another bus to our terminal. As you can imagine the unloading of full transatlantic flight takes time and the buses wait until they are filled to bursting point. Other than that the airport is clean and airy and I found the shops and amenities adequate.

Paris CDG Airport review by Brian Murphy
26 August 2006

Recently flew a number of times during the month of August through Roissy CDG Terminal 2F. Thankfully the airport authorities appear at last to be addressing some of the shortcomings previously posted on this site. I was delighted to see that since August 1, 2006, smoking is now forbidden in the cafes downstairs in 2F airside. In addition, another recent addition is the placing of palm trees at the baggage arrivals area and just outside in the main arrivals area. This small touch has certainly taken the cold sting away from an otherwise dated and somewhat chilly terminal in atmosphere. Hopefully, the authorities will now continue to upgrade facilities in Terminal 2F and replace the tatty and old carpets and seat upholstery, which are a disgrace. One final comment for travellers in transit - if you are passing through security to gates F41-F46, from a connecting terminal prepare for a huge wait. The notice says 10 minutes - I spent closer to 30 minutes there yesterday, until such time as Air France took some initiative and called any passengers taking the Seoul and Dubai flights which were near final boarding and were able to fast-track them through a dedicated security line. Clearly, the airport needs to look carefully at this area of congestion.

Paris CDG Airport review by Paul Browne
21 June 2006

Recently flew BA in and out of CDG T2B and was somewhat apprehensive given the comments made here and on other message boards. Nothing could have been further from the truth! We were at Baggage Claim within 2 mins of walking off the aircraft and 5 mins after that we were outside getting into the Shuttle. Very helpful BA staff in the Baggage area organised our transportation too. On our return, checked in very quickly using the check-in machines but despite it being the busiest time of the day there was only one security guard on duty with 4 other unmanned desks. This slowed us down a bit but we had a couple of hours to kill, unfortunately in a mediocre Business Class longe shared by BA and AF. All in all, our 2 experiences did not mirror the bad press we had read.

Paris CDG Airport review by Ron Kuhlmann
10 June 2006

I had a poor opinion of CDG from last year and found that, if anything, I had been too kind in calling it horrible. Luggage claim for AA is a tiny area, virtually filled with carts and allowing almost no movement to retrieve bags or to exit once the bags are in hand. The corridors are cramped and ziggzagging along compares unfavorably to a cheap video game. Security and immigration on departure are exercises in contortions as no less than 5 empty wheelchairs squeezed through against traffic after delivering passengers to the gate. I find it incredible that they have no egress except to barge through against the lines. I love Paris and France but will avoid any more flights into, out of or through CDG.

Paris CDG Airport review by Bob Adamczyk
3 June 2006

I fly CDG at least 4-5 times a year. CDG is one of the busiest airports in the world. If you compare it to JFK or LAX (especially as a non- native speaker of English,try and find someone at JFK who speaks French, Croatian or Farsi ! ). You just have to approach the people with the right attitude, attempt to speak their language first, and act as if they might be able to help you, but don't make unreasonable requests or demands ! Terminal 2C was pretty crowded to depart from at midday in the past, but now that Terminal 2E has been reopened, some of the crowding has been reduced. I recently flew out of 2E on AF in April. The terminal was large, spacious and not overcrowded. Decent, fresh food was available at the boulangerie (not plastic-wrapped, 3 days old like in the US). The Air France lounge for AF and Skyteam Elite was large, spacious and had a good assortment of drinks, wines and sandwiches, all complimentary. Until the 2E departure gate area is reconstructed, passengers will still have to depart out of a temporary area via bus and be shuttled to their flight. If you are connecting,: don't consider it with less than a 2 hr connection.

Paris CDG Airport review by D Blomgren
24 May 2006

CDG Terminal 2E. The experience was close to inhumane. Passengers flying Delta from Paris were herded onto a bus like standing cattle. Then the bus pulls away from the "salon" and sits - this time for 40 minutes with the ventilation system turned off - while other buses are loaded. We had several elderly people nearly faint and the crowd started begging for air and to be set free. The driver is separated from the crowd by a glass window and does his best to ignore the passengers. The Delta flight crew did its best to calm the enraged crowd - they've grown accustomed to furious passengers boarding after the mistreatment on the ground at CDG. United uses Terminal 1. Others do as well. If you are traveling with elderly people or others who cannot easily climb many stairs or stand in a crowded bus for about an hour, or who simply prefer to breathe, we would recommend using those airlines and to avoid Delta and Air France for trips to Paris. At least until terminal 2E is fixed (which could be a year or so).

Paris CDG Airport review by Glyn Harbour
30 April 2006

ATH-CDG-BHX-CDG-ATH. Nothing very new to add to what has already been said, but at least it helps confirm the views already expressed. We had booked Air France through CDG when a neighbour told us that we had made a big mistake, before retiring he had used CDG quite a lot and hated it every time. A quick trawl on the net showed his views were shared by others and of course we saw the views expressed on your site. So we were at least able to prepare ourselves as much as possible and since we were only changing from 2D to 2F and v.v. it was reasonably straightforward (I would not like to have done it ‘cold’ though) However we did meet the typical customer unfriendly Air France employee babbling away in French and making it totally clear that she had no intention of attempting to find our problem and help a little!! (OK it’s France and my French is rusty but CDG is supposed to be an international airport isn’t it?). We did later find another who was totally helpful about booking a vegetarian meal on the return trip. We avoided the toilets, saw the wonders of architecture which are totally dysfunctional, on our return trip we discovered when we had gone through security to airside that there was a 40 min delay – yes, of course no shops there to speak of (why couldn’t it have been ‘broadcast’ a bit sooner – we would not then have rushed through for what was a reasonably tight connection). Not once did we get to use a walkway in CDG in the manner intended, it was a bus on all 4 occasions to and from the aircraft inbound and outbound – both BHX and ATH were the opposite of course ! When we arrived from BHX on our homeward journey we had to wait 10 minutes for a bus, when we were ready to depart CDG for ATH we had to wait 5 minutes for a bus – it’s quite incredible. Then the only really sour note about Air France – the pilot welcomed us on board and quite clearly laid the blame for the delay on to LHR - passengers were left in no doubt that it was nothing to do with Air France nor CDG but totally due to ‘many delayed aircraft at LHR’ – grow up guys!! Like your previous commentators, I will never choose to fly CDG again if there is any suitable alternative. It is clearly the most dysfunctional, dirty and unfriendly airport I have ever used.

Paris CDG Airport review by Brian Murphy
28 April 2006

Recently flew from 2F to Dubai on Air France. It is a real pity that an excellent airline like Air France has to use such an awful airport like Roissy. The carpets and seats in 2F need immediate replacement, as they are torn, grubby and tatty. In addition, I do not understand why the authorities continue to allow the smoking area down-stairs. As the corridor is small, the smell of smoke diffuses to the so-called non- smoking area! Furthermore, the condition of the toilets in all of Roissy continues to be a problem. One just hopes that the airport authorities take the time to read the comments, complaints and suggestions on this site and take appropriate action. One final comment, Priority Pass holders have no lounge access in 2F, to escape the chaos and tattiness! Be warned!

Paris CDG Airport review by P Cotsapas
28 April 2006

I recently used CDG 1 for the first time. It gave me rather mixed impressions - mostly negative. Passport control upon arrival was terrible. There were only 2 booths open for a flight of 250 people. Thank God ours was the only flight to arrive at Satellite 4, or else I might have still been waiting in line. I must say that the way the escalators are arranged in the middle of this donut shaped terminal are quite cool. They are rather bumpy, though. Baggage claim went smoothly enough. On departure, check-in was a mess. We were travelling as a (rather international) group, which included a few Russians - and the check-in assistants gave them hell. They were complaining that their visas were not valid, and check-in was held up for 20 minutes while they called the French embassy in Cyprus, from who they found out the visas were valid. Again, passport control had only 1 person. I was lucky enough to be near the front of the line, so I got through quite quickly. When, half an hour later I had finished shopping (OK variety in the stores) people from my group still hadn't come through passport control. The sole snack bar for satellites 4 and 5 was way overpriced. Thank goodness Paris (which was, of course, wonderful) was our destination because transiting in CDG would give me a terrible impression of France, which is, au contraire, one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

Paris CDG Airport review by Dennis Roquand
22 April 2006

Connecting from terminal E to another terminal is a nightmare. Should you have no more than one hour for your next flight, the airport will make sure you spend all this time touring around the airport and miss your flight. I travel from USA to Africa every six weeks and I rather travel through London than going through CDG terminal 2E. When do they intend to improve the situation ?

Paris CDG Airport review by Ian Corrigan
30 March 2006

CDG 1 is possibly the most dismal airport terminal ever conceived, I simply cannot imagine that it ever was or ever will be anything other than manky! The petrified pigeon still occupies the catch net in the centre of the donut - before long it will be fossilised. The textured finish of most of the concrete surfaces within the building should not be touched at any cost, as you are likely to contract some new disease (H5N1, Ebola, SARS possibly). The staff appear to derive some enjoyment from misdirection of passengers, informing passengers of flight delays at least 30 minutes after it has become obvious that the flight is delayed and abandoning security points when there is a huge queue. Passport control is manned on the basis that the more people there are the fewer cutoms officers will deal with the situation. Until December last year there was a half filled carrier bag of something or other on a ledge above the tunnel to SAT1 - one can only assume that the sniffer dogs can't get up that high. If it wasn't for the fact that one occasionally has to use CDG 1, I think the best solution would be a 2 Kiloton bomb and simply start afresh. CDG 2 however is JUST AS BAD - where can you get a decent meal? Why are most of the toilets more filthy on the outside of the pan? How confusing can you make a terminal? The management of CDG are very innovative in their creation of confusion. Not just missing signs but all sorts of clever mismatches of numbering. CDG 1 Hall 5, nowhere near 4 or 6. CDG 1 RER station actually next door to CDG3. Navette 2 goes to CDG 3 or CDG1 RER. Whereas Navette 3 goes to CDG 2 and so on. Arriving at CDG in a hire car - just try to find a petrol station - the only one I could find after circumnavigating the entire site was on the exit slip to the motorway - Doh! What's worse is the place is growing, it's pseudo morphic expanses of grass and tarmac are set to envelop most of northern france. On occasions it seems like you are taxiing half way to your destination not fliying. Take it from me do not expect to leave CDG without feeling depressed and angry.

Paris CDG Airport review by Tim Pithers
18 February 2006

I have just had the misfortune to once again travel from CDG. I used terminal 2 for the first time last year, and was amazed how dissapointing the facilities were in what is a stunning piece of architecture. Cleanliness also left much to be desired. Terminal 1 is even worse. The first problem is that signposting is extremely confusing. Duty free shops and eating facilities are frequently signposted in the wrong direction, so much so that after check-in and passing onto the second level of the building, I had to exit through Arrivals, descend two levels and start again just to find a café. Flying from satellites 6 and 7 (primarly Lufthansa) mean that there are absolutely no shopping or eating facilities once you've reached the second level, aside from a tiny boutique and a tiny (extremely). Thus, overpriced) café. Thus, one is resigned to using the 'Food Court' on the basement level. This is truly disgusting. Most of the shops down here are boarded up, leaVing just the pharmacy open. It's dark, dirty and there's about 3 eating places with melamine furniture and stale smoke in the air. The food is terribly overpriced and well up on French high street prices. Sadly, for such an interesting and innovative piece of architecture, terminal 1 at CDG is my least favourite place to travel from and it's well worth trying to keep your time there to an absolute minimum.

Paris CDG Airport review by John Oram
13 February 2006

CDG is a truly ghastly airport. Pieced together, it is disorienting, poorly signed and of no help to the passenger whatsoever. Travelling LHR-CDG-TUN-CDG-LHR over a few days I had at least the benefit of changing planes within in 2F but I was one night at an airport hotel during this process. Shuttle buses go round and round on the most extraordinary routes often passing the same point twice or three times at slightly different distances. Inside the terminal finding continuous signs to the shuttle is a challenge. It appeared to me that the shuttle was essentially free but that the Courtyard was seeing if it could charge 5euro for it. It didn't seem to have the courage to try to enforce this wholeheartedly. Things are bad from the inside of an aeroplane, arriving or departing. Taxy routes are long and circuitous and the selected runway always the farthest possible from the terminal. Security was over-zealous; how can there be any justification for three different people to check passport/boarding pass within 50m during the process of entering the departure gates. We were delayed by a lightning baggage handling strike whilst waiting to go to TUN. I would not hub through CDG unless other factors made it highly attractive to do so.

Paris CDG Airport review by Kevin Leung
31 January 2006

Arrived in Terminal 2A from YYZ with Air Canada. Definitely this is an airport should be avoided at all time. Immigration line up was horribly long with only four officers for more than a thousand passengers (At the same time, two ACs, one CO and one AA arrival). Baggage area was a joke, four flights sharing a single baggage area. The arrival hall was poorly signed and the terminal map was useless. Try to find Air France shuttle to the city, bus stop is not a bus stop, the traffic at the pick up area just a mess like in third world countries. Later, got a chance to use T3 for LCC with Air Berlin. The terminal was extremely far away. The inter-terminal shuttle from T1 and 2 took more than half an hour to reach T3. Interior was warehouse-looking, but I like T3 more because it is simple and clean! Caution!! Be aware if you have a transit with T1 or T2 arrival but depart in T3 or vice versa, reserve minimum 3 hours!

Paris CDG Airport review by Barry Byrne
29 January 2006

The concrete donut that is CDG 1 has been in renovation for a long time so it is nice to be able to report that some new check in facilities are now in use there. Described as "Check in Hall 5" , it will not astound any of our regular users of CDG, that it is not to be found between "Halls 4 & 6" at all (actually these are aisles, not halls). That is where most passengers might reasonably imagine it to be found, or infer from the counting skills they learn in preschool, or expect in other airports. Being CDG, 5 is on an entirely differing and lower floor than halls 4 & 6 are and the easiest way to find it is to seek out the McDonalds, as it is close by. Perhaps "Check in Hall X" rather than Hall 5 might have helped make the point about this being in a different place, on a different floor to persons who do not work for ADP. Of course, being CDG it is not marked as Hall 5 even when you get there either and the most recent issue of the ADP magazine, on free offer at CDG, does not show it, at all, in their new map. To accomodate this space, the "Boutiques" that once were on this level have largely vanished now, leaving a small News and Magazine Shop, a Pharmacy and a Post Office. A further shop is to open there run by Casino "shortly".

Paris CDG Airport review by J Hall
18 January 2006

Arrived in CDG 2F from LHR for a connection to JNB and I must say that from being in that terminal you wouldn't have a clue about how bad the rest of the airport is. The transfer was very quick and easy with a very short walk; 2F is an amazing building with a fantastic roof. Great shops and restaurants, and was all very clean. Everything was quick and easy and overall we were very impressed!

Paris CDG Airport review by Bert Stauffen
15 January 2006

I live in Paris and make around 60 flights out of Paris per year (mostly within Europe). CDG1: to be avoided - "space age" 70s design, has withstood passage of time badly; lets hope that current refurbishment will improve things - it will, however, not improve the long ways to walk (with automatic walkways often out of order) and the bizarre overall lay-out of this terminal. CDG 2A and B: in need of refurbishment. CDG 2D: overall OK, good Air France lounge (although overcrowded in peak hours). CDG 2F: I like the design/architecture, overall a very agreeable terminal - long queues tend to build up at security in peak hours (up to 20 mins to get through security on Monday mornings), causing delays. CDG 2E: again the architecture is spectacular; I really like this terminal - unfortunately part of the roof caved in in 2004 and the terminal is currently being repaired/rebuilt - to be avoided during the rebuilding phase; all boarding is by bus from a makeshift departure hall. Connecting within Terminal 2 is OK (although it is a very long walk from 2 A or B to 2 E or F); connecting between terminal 1 and 2 is a nightmare (only by bus with interminable stops on the way). Another problem, share by all big airports, are interminable taxi times (sometimes 12/20 minutes).

Paris CDG Airport review by Pierre Fabre
6 January 2006

I'm French, born in Paris and still living there and am ashamed by Paris airports, specially CDG. None of the terminals has been designed for the convenience of passengers, connecting ground transports are very poorly indicated, you won't find any of them without asking your way and where exactly to wait. Because of the anti terrorist plan it is more than 10 years that all luggage deposits have been closed so there is absolutely no possibility to leave your luggage at the airport if you are making only a day stop an would like to go in town for a few hours. Paris CDG terminals have been designed by renowned architects, but none offers enough space for moving around with your trolleys, and queues spread all across the halls. Those stupid architects only thought about the so-called elegance of the outside of the buildings, they built the most recent terminals as original light elongated fluid concrete structures instead of simple efficient and sturdy ones, the result being the collapsing of a part of the terminal, where 2 passengers were killed. Millions are being spent to rebuild and reinforce this wing. CDG 1 is possibly the worst airport I know. It is supposed to be renovated but I wonder if this will solve any of the problems inherent to its most stupid and completely outdated design. Think about it - cars which need to park have to climb up to the 6th floor to exit through the parking gates; and of course then they have to go 6 floors down. Luggage coming out from the plane at ground level is sent underground before going up to the second floor where you collect it. What a clever way to waste energy and make sure you'll wait for it long enough fighting with the smokers that will inevitably light a cigarette at this point. The round shape of the building will ensure that you'll walk around for ages not knowing where you are; since there is no beginning and no end to a round building, you'll have to rely solely on numbers in order to find your check in desk, and you'll never be able to find out which is the shortest way to get there, around to the let or to the right? across through the middle? . Same thing when you need to find an elevator, the toilets (terrible), a shop in the duty free or a shuttle bus stop. Oversized luggage cannot go on the climbing belts so it arrives at least 30 minutes later on a cart, though an elevator, that is if it doesnt get stuck or simply forgotten in the elevator (my record must be an extra hour and a half of waiting to get my oversized bags!) Whichever terminal you go through, there is always much queuing through customs because there isn't enough staff.

Paris CDG Airport review by Srimanikandhan Appunni
2 January 2006

Arrived at CDG on Delta 16 from JFK to MAA via CDG. Even though a continuing passenger on the same flight was taken on a bus for 15 min ride to some terminal and was then put thru security and asked to take Another bus back to the terminal where I go off the plane earlier for another 15 min ride. Do the people at CDG know what airbridges are ? The staff at the main terminal were rude and unhelpful. Avoid CDG at any cost if you can.

Paris CDG Airport review by Isabel Green
14 December 2005

CDG 1, a terrible place. I think the word baggage is universal but nobody understood me when asking where to find my bags. Signs are rare, staff are rude, the place is filthy, very inconvenient, and don't even try to connect through CDG. If you do, allow hours ahead of you or might not get your connecting flight, and if you do miss you flight nobody will help you! Terminal 3 is OK but you're likely to be delayed!

Paris CDG Airport review by Andrew Mortimer
11 December 2005

CDG is terrible and we had the added bonus of a bomb scare. Check in a complete shambles, cluttered and spaces blocked off resulting in a 20 minute walk to be able to get to the inside of the circle to get rid of our bags. Anywhere else using a hub and spoke terminal at least lets you enter from the circumference. No facilities at gate and a quality airline like Emirates, who I flew, must wonder what they have done to get such appalling ground service. Fly into anywhere else and take the train to Paris.

Paris CDG Airport review by Ramón Fretz
30 November 2005

Arrived unexpectedly at Terminal 2A of CDG from Montreal (normally 2F) - what a chaos! CDG is a mess and 2A beats all other terminals I have transited through at this airport. It seems as if the architects of this airport only had "beauty" in mind but certainly not functionality. Passengers coming from all directions queuing up for immigration. Bad signs, slow control, queues in all directions, blocking access to all others. Once you have survived that, try to get your baggage. It's like going into a cul-de-sac for baggage retrieval from the belt. Everybody rushed to the head of the delivery belt just to find out that their are caught between the baggage system and the other passengers standing behind them with their carts waiting for their bags to be delivered too. A real nightmare. It took me over an hour to get the bags. Avoid 2A at all costs!

Paris CDG Airport review by Jorg Ludewig
16 November 2005

Try to avoid CDG when you can. Hardly anyone I know that travelled thru CDG lost at least one piece of luggage. I took a family trip from FRA via CDG to Biarritz on Air France. Upon arrival in Biarritz, two out of three bags were missing. they were still in Paris besides an almost 2hr layover in CDG and came one day later. On our return flight, we checked in again three bags plus a stroller with final destination FRA. Our departure in Biarritz got delayed and once we landed in CDG we only had about 45min left for transfer. The plane then did not stop at a bridge, but on the field and it took CDG ground personnel about 10 minutes to provide stairs to get out of the plane. When I walked to a bus, a ground staff member handed me our stroller, though it was checked thru to Frankfurt and said so on the label. He would not take it back, so we took it with us on the bus. Once we were at the terminal, we had about 20 minutes left only. We ran like crazy, snaked thru long lines at security check and actually made it as last passenger to our FRA connection. We sat down to hear the pilot saying that there will be a delay due to some missing luggage. We thought this would for sure be our bags they are waiting for, but wrong. Once landed in Frankfurt, none of the three bags showed up and were only delivery the day after. I can only recommend to either not use CDG or in case you have, limit yourself to carry on. The whole system there is a big black hole. A friend that is in the freight business actually says the same about shipping airfreight to CDG: makes you sweat and wonder if it will ever make it thru there.

Paris CDG Airport review by Dave Jaros
8 November 2005

Must confirm the previous few "bus station" comments here. Used CDG first time on Nov-05, arriving early morning to T3. Despite "low cost" terminal, I have expected at least FEW air bridges, but what I have experienced was a pure sightseeing. After landing, the plane has slowly approached the area, which took about 15 (!) minutes to park just in a front of the terminal (some 50 meters away), then bussed around the amazing waiting hall full of cement panels. Luckily, the passport control was breeze, although only 2 out of 8 counters were open, quick baggage claim (last person left the carrousel some 20 mins after landing - but there was only one more arrival at the terminal at the same time). Very poor (not only) arrival hall by all means, so I was happy not to transit there - anyway, you have to walk out the building and enter the departures some 100 yards further towards the railway ( I am young and like walking and with only hand baggage, is it okay, but cannot imagine pax with suitcases crossing the two line street before train station- you may not take trolleys from terminal to the train). It was really not possible to build the walkway in the underground with jetways ?? I would welcome that on my return Nov-06 evening, when the RER from Gare du Nord arrived delayed (some 8 mins) and I had to RUN through the poorly signposted (or rather lighted) rain station to the terminal just to catch the check-in. The most horrendous moment was when entering the departure hall, there was NO DISPLAY BOARD with counter allocation !!! I got nearly crazy when running around the hall watching the small displays at counters to find out which one is the mine. The only positive point is the 30 minutes rule, which saved me a flight (but lost nearly this advantage due to the unnecessary search). Cannot imagine the peak hours and hords moving around the T3... Just after security, I was looking for some food, but the only option found was a crowded self service buffet with exorbitant prices (coke/soft 3 E, sandwich 4,50E etc). Shopping possibilities are limited (2 delicates, 1 clothes, 2 perfumeries), as well as the toilets. Also, all seats in the waiting hall were seated, the only view is to shuttle busses. My flight has been announced "on time" some 30 mins before departure, but the flight control must have known already, there will be at least 30 mins delay due to incoming turnover flight. But were announced just at the scheduled time for 10 mins delay - the first at last info for pax, but they knew the plane was not airside yet. After another 10 mins, were loaded into bus, but kept with open doors another 10 mins (how do they it during freezing period??) and bussed the 50 (!) meters distance for another 10 mins (the tarmac sightseeing again). So definitely, if you are changing at CDG, for more facilities use the T1 and 2 and be prepared for time consuming and confusing transfers.

Paris CDG Airport review by Grant Benedict
6 November 2005

In the first ten days of September this year (2005) I was unfortunate enough to travel through CDG airport not once, but twice - having to change planes each time. My first mistake was allowing for a 55 minute layover between flights, the first time through. I requested a longer layover but was told by Air France that "45 minutes is a legal layover" and was denied. So we landed at dawn and were deposited on the tarmac which allowed us a view of the terminal through a chain link fence. Eventually a bus arrived and packed us on like refugees before driving in a huge circle to deposit us on the other side of the fence where there was access to the "A" terminal. Once in that terminal we had to catch ANOTHER bus to the terminal from which we were to depart - this was a 15-minute wait, then about a 10-minute ride through a maze of circles, concrete walls, tunnels and fences. We arrived at "E" terminal just in time to see that boarding for our departing flight was closed. We approached an Air France information desk and were told to go to the 'ticketing' desk. We did, and stood in line for more than 30-minutes while the two agents at the desk argued with two people. Eventually another agent appeared and got the line moving. When we got to her, she looked at our tickets and said no, we needed to go to the 'transfer' desk. So we went there - and found a line of about 100 people, all of whom had missed flights, near as we could figure out. We moved slowly along for about another 40 minutes before arriving at a window where we were told that the next flight out was less than two hours away so we couldn't get on that one (you must be in the terminal two hours prior to flight departure and it didn't matter that we had already been there two hours) and the next one was booked solid, so we were scheduled for another flight - five hours away. We made that flight, after sitting on the floor for several hours, since there were no chairs in the waiting area. On the way back, we had a layover of 1:20 - We again were deposited on the tarmac and had to wait around for about 15 minutes for a bus which drove us around for about 10 minutes before arriving at the terminal where we were to change buses. Thank God we were at the head of that line! Before the right bus arrived a nervous horde had packed in behind us, with many of them waving tickets and saying things like "My plane is at 9:30!" (it was 9:25) while the girl responsible for keeping us in line just looked at them and shrugged her shoulders. Finally the bus arrived and again we packed on like refugees. The bus stopped several times en route through the maze of fences, tunnels and airplanes, eventually arriving at our departure terminal. Once inside we literally RAN to gate 75 - down stairs, up stairs, around corners - and arrived at the gate with mere minutes to spare.

Paris CDG Airport review by J D Kemp
6 November 2005

This is a bus station, not an airport. Flying from CDG to ORD departing from Terminal E: 1st class check-in took an hour because of issues with the baggage system. I then had to transit by bus from Terminal E, which is still technically closed due to the roof collapse. The bus ride was interminable, and the amount of vehicular traffic on the various tarmacs was astounding. It really was bumper to bumper. The bus driver spoke on his mobile phone the entire time (!), impervious to repeated pleas by passengers to turn off the heating on board. After 15 minutes in the steam bath on wheels, we disembarked, bathed in sweat, at the temporary facility. Because this process had taken so long, passengers literally walked off the bus and into the queue to board the aircraft. There was no time for freshening up, shopping, nothing. Finally, boarding was accomplished by a walk across the tarmac to the waiting aircraft, which was accessible only by a very steep staircase. Physically challenged passengers and the elderly were really put to the test. CDG has got to be one of the most unpleasant airports, and one is better off avoiding it if possible.

Paris CDG Airport review by John Maley
29 October 2005

The biggest bus station in the world. You spend more time on buses than anywhere else. I flew business on Delta and after 12 hours of travelling was sent to a lounge that has no showers - this was after I tried to get into another lounge, so they did not bother to think that a transit passenger might want to shower. Ask if your lounge has a shower if you want to use one - don't assume that in one of the worlds most modern airports this would be standard. Overall now I know why others told me to avoid it.

Paris CDG Airport review by Bill Mountain
28 October 2005

RE Maggy Simms comment: To ensure a trouble free transit from T1 or T3 at Paris CDG follow these tips. From T1 there is a bus that takes you to the transit area. If you arrive at CDG T3 you can easily (5mins) walk to the main bus and RER train station, It's all on one level with no steps. If taking the RER make sure to get 10 euro in coins in change so that you can feed the ticket machines at the CDG T1 station for your ticket as the queues are horrendous at the ticket booth and the machines do not accept foreign cards (god alone knows why, as my french card works in london on the tube) and check the monitors at the RER station to make sure that you take a train with no stops until the Gare du Nord, thus avoiding undesirable travellers that might join in the suburbs. You will then have a bother free transit into town. You can then get a metro to your destination, and do not need to bother with the cabs here.

Paris CDG Airport review by Jacques Dang
24 October 2005

Lynne Reid's comments on CDG are accurate but apply only to Terminal 1. The RER suburban train actually arrives at the center of Terminal 2, at the same location as the TGV high speed trains.

Paris CDG Airport review by Sascha Menzendorf
23 October 2005

As it was my first experience with this airport, I was quite exited to fly via Paris on my way from Berlin to Dubai last week. The airport terminals seem to be quite new. However, they are totally crowded. The airport in general was pretty dirty, filthy and noisy. Smokers corners everywhere and absolutely no chance to find an empty seat to wait for boarding. The terminal I was waiting in for my flight to Dubai was by far to small for the passenger traffic. Finally, the computer systems for the boarding procedure were not working properly so the boarding took about 1 hour. Due to the lack of space the queue crossed the boarding queue of the flight to Toronto next to our gate so the chaos was complete. I have to agree with the previous comments: CDG is pretty much outdated. The facilities are in bad condition and partly inappropriate.

Paris CDG Airport review by Antonio Teixeira
23 October 2005

Flight from Porto (Portugal) to Prague (Czech Republic) via Paris CDG. Transfer between terminals 2D and 2B was easy, although the signs can sometimes mislead you. But you will quickly discover if you're going the wrong way. Terminal 2 is clean, has lots of shops and employees are very helpful and friendly (Air France and shops). Long queues at the Air France transfer desk, but you won't need to go there if you already have a boarding pass to your connection flight. Everything seemed accessible, although I didn't have an opportunity to see the other terminals or to use the airport buses. All went well and I hope you can also have a pleasant stay at CDG.

Paris CDG Airport review by Lynne Reid
21 October 2005

It is hard to believe that CDG is the main airport for such a wonderful city as Paris. It's badly organised and has very poor facilities. Fortunately I had booked a car on arrival, but I returned via RER from Gare du Nord. The line is signed CDG but on arrival you have to take a bus to the terminal. In our case terminal 1. What a sad place. The few facilities available - small duty free, small gourmet food section, panoramic restaurant (where the restaurant was closed at 6.00 pm so only cold pre-prepared bar snacks) are before the very long winded security check to enter the gate area. Allow at least 45 minutes for this. Then when you get through you discover there are no toilets, let alone shops etc so you have to go out and back through the security!! Certainly no smoking!! If you have to travel from England to Paris take the Eurostar direct to the centre, its so much more civilised. I will never willingly do this journey any other way.

Paris CDG Airport review by Michael R Preston
9 October 2005

Connecting between terminals is a nightmare, with inadequate and confusing signage, which appears more directed towards getting passengers into areas where they will spend money than in helping to ease transits. I transited CDG from a BA flight onto an SAA flight, so from terminal 2B to terminal 1. Because my inbound flight was delayed 45 minutes and I had to fetch my suitcase for the transit (not the fault of the airport authorities), I was on a very tight time scale. My luggage took over 30 minutes to arrive and I had less than 10 to get to terminal 1. The transfer buses were nowhere to be seen and a taxi driver wanted 50 Euros to take me - as I was desperate I got into the taxi and got him down to 30 - still daylight robbery for a 5 minute ride. This airport, and particularly the scruffy and distant terminal 1 from which the SAA flight leaves, at the same time as a flight to Beijing, making the satellite very crowded, is the main reason I would try to avoid transiting here.

Paris CDG Airport review by Kim Gammelgård
9 October 2005

I came in and out of CDG last week. Flying in some terminal 2 and out of 2D. Going in was okay, getting my suitcase immediately after landing. Getting a ticket to the RER to go to the center is a total joke. I cannot imagine how a country with that amount of pride can offer such poor service. The lines for the counter were enormous and the ticket machines only took about half of the credit cards that I saw people using. It did not take my Danish Visa/Dankort, so I had to buy a magazine in a shop to get coins (8€) instead. Going out, I came 1,5 hrs before planned liftoff and was faced by a queue that took me an hour to get through. I didn't spend any money at the shops as planned because of this. It turned out that they were doing the boarding cards semi- automatically and had to look through a paper list for each passenger. The list was not sorted properly - who would ever have thought of that - so for each passenger, the woman had to go through the whole list of about 100 passengers to find the name. If she was taking ca. 1/3 of the flight it means that just spending time looking for their names would take her 20 minutes extra because of the incompetency of the system that made her the list. This delayed the flight by half an hour. When I got my boarding pass at 11.45, the boarding time was given to 11:35 and there were still a long long queue behind me. Security was reasonably manned and very fast. Going to the plane, CGD had a lady making sure that there was no queue of people in front of the plane, so every one who tried just to get out of the bus and go to the plane before it was his or her time was stopped and made clear who was in charge here. I wonder how they can afford to pay people doing those silly jobs, and why they don't use them at the desk where they are needed instead.

Paris CDG Airport review by Ron Kuhlmann
9 October 2005

Our experience was in line with the others outlined. On arrival, the bag claim was chaos - I finally just stood back and waited for the crowd to clear as both the space and facilities were horribly inadequate. Far worse than many third world airports. Signage was confusing and moving to the TGV terminal took a very long time as the walkways were narrow and congested. While I love Paris, this is not a pleasant introduction. Perhaps the best solution is for the whole thing to collapse and provide a clean slate.

Paris CDG Airport review by Maggy Simms
13 September 2005

Regarding CDG T3 - you need to know this if you are on a weekend from Liverpool John Lennon with easyjet. Or maybe you just need to know it anyway: point is, T3 is completely out of the way of public transport links. The whole of CDG is bathed in utter chaos and even if you speak french it ain't easy to sort your way thru. the signage is tasteful, but utterly unhelpful. The Disneyland Bus picks up at T3 all other public transport goes from T2. You cannot walk from T3 to T2 - you must get the shuttle bus. This is 'ligne 5' and to get it, walk down the covered path that goes under the road - it is signed for T1 and T2, and leads into a bus station. In that station get the free shuttle bus to T2 and get off at stop T2 C or D - it's exact drop-off point depends on how manic the traffic is. Then get the Air France bus, No2 will drop you at the arc de triomphe from where you can get the metro anywhere. It costs 12 euro at the time of writing.

Paris CDG Airport review by Sylvia Tomlin
29 August 2005

I arrived at Charles De Gaulle on June 22, 2005. I had booked a hotel near the airport to rest for the day and start sightseeing the next day. None of the taxi drivers in the taxi line would take my grandson and I to the Holiday Inn Bourget/Garonor. They simply refused. We had to take a shuttle to another Holiday Inn and from there the called us a taxi at a inflated rate. The taxi companies needs to be monitored more closely. I will try to avoid this airport in the future.

Paris CDG Airport review by Dermot Cairns
23 August 2005

Arrived at CDG on Sun Aug 21 from Rio on Air France and was connecting on AF to Heathrow. What a disaster! The aircraft was parked on a remote stand and we were coached to the terminal, which took forever because of the sheer volume of coach, baggage and contractors vehicles. This was made worse by 3 Immigration officers stopping everybody as they got off each coach to check passports. I deplaned at 09.00 and wasn't inside the terminal until 10.05 I then had a further coach ride to Terminal 2F for my connecting flight. This is not a good airport to transit - Schiphol is a million miles better and I will avoid CDG like the plague in future.

Paris CDG Airport review by Helen Anderson
29 July 2005

CDG Terminal 2B was not the perfect end to a hard earned holiday. The toilet facilities were the worst I have encountered. There is an inadequate supply of seating and the departure lounge was dreadful. Not really what I had expected from France's capital city. My overall opinion is that this airport should be avoided if possible.

Paris CDG Airport review by Jack Yan
25 July 2005

A pretty confusing place, but helped with maps; once oriented into the French "rhythm" it is not as bad. If you want to get VAT refunds, forget it: queues are excessive. Rental car pick-up is not that much better, even for a Francophone such as myself. Drop-off areas can be so overrun with vehicles that some will park on the only lane left for traffic. Passport control staff are consistently unsure of the status of a British National (Overseas) passport, even though I was told by the French Embassy that it would have the status of a regular British one prior to departure. I always carry a New Zealand one as a back-up, which at least permitted me to stay as a short-term tourist. Despite being a Francophile, I have to admit this is one of the less well organized airports. It has some charm; the prices of food are higher but not exorbitantly so (any tourist areas in Paris will be the same). But it pains me to say that it is easier connecting internationally via a German airport. You lose the charm but you also lose the frustration.

Paris CDG Airport review by W Pierson
21 July 2005

I have flown out of CDG twice in recent months, both times on trips home to the US. This airport is completely inadequate for the current high volume travel it is trying to handle. Once inside the international Air France departures (terminal C) there are insufficient bathroom facilities, the line for women was 30 people long, for men it was about 20 people long. Your passport and boarding pass is checked four times before you get to the departure gate. But on my most recent departure, two people (when they needed about 8) slowly rechecked every passport and boarding pass for an entire, full Air France 747. Despite starting boarding on time, the flight was delayed nearly an hour because of this fifth and final check of passports/boarding passes. Air France was apologetic, but the airport must supply sufficient security personnel to allow flights to depart on time.

Paris CDG Airport review by Florent Masse
13 July 2005

As a French citizen, I understand the frustration of international passengers arriving at CDG. I very frequently travel between New York and Lille and am often ashamed at the organization at the TGV and RER stations ! My advice to foreign travellers: if you want to connect to Paris Center, use the Air France coaches - price is pretty much the same as the RER and the ride is much more enjoyable. However, if you use the Air France coaches, try to avoid rush hours. Second advice: if your final destination is a French city served by TGV from CDG - try to book your train ticket in advance as an air ticket leg through TGV AIR (Air France, Continental, and many more airlines provide that service). This would really save you some time, as you will only need to claim your train ticket in exchange of your air coupon at the dedicated TGV AIR desk in the TGV ticket desks. The whole process takes one minute and is much better than standing in line, exhausted, at the TGV ticket desks where very few employees are indeed working... especially in the summer. And yes ! what a shame that foreigners cannot use their credit cards to purchase train and RER tickets ! CDG still has a long way to go.