Paris CDG Airport

✅ Verified Review | Attention! Because of the shortage of staff in the customs control, we had a queue of more than two hours, after a 14 hour trip from Santiago de Chile. The officials look at you with a face that says "if you do not like, do not come". Dozens of people missing connecting flights.

I've arrived through Terminal 2E many times over the years, and have learned to accept the long line at customs, but today was too much. The morning rush of flights arriving from the US (3-4 flights) was welcomed by only two customs agents for all non-EU travelers. In the meantime, the line of 10-15 Sky Priority passengers also had two customs agents. I spent an hour in line. Something needs to change, because this is a very poor first impression for travelers coming to France.

The passport control was hopelessly inadequate for the 400+ passengers who arrived on an Emirates A380. There was one customs officer to process those with EU passports, and one for the rest. If you had a passport that takes fingerprints you were OK to go through the automatic booth, but not many had these. We were at the end of the queue as we don't rush to leave the aircraft. The process for us took about 45 minutes. Just as well we didn't have a connecting flight.

Terminal 2A is for long haul flights mostly to Middle East, Asia and East Africa. It takes at least 10 mins to reach from the TGV railway station or the hotel shuttle bus stop. Check-in area might be crowded depending on the time of the day and the airline. Security check is often chaotic and the so called priority lane for premium passengers does not make much difference. Passport control usually fast. Shopping facilities airside are extensive with many luxury brands having their own corner and quite often interesting discounts. Food outlets overpriced as in many airports. Passport control on arrival and luggage delivery are reasonably fast.

All normal. Long walking distances. Expensive shops. Few restaurants. Less smokers rooms and now more luxury stores. I pay as well for the services of this airport with my ticket so I expect some basic services for me as well.

Another good experience at Paris CDG - fast check in, immigration and security. Boarding was in the L hall, which is modern, clean and comfortable. Signage could have been better in terminal 2F. Free and fast wi-fi everywhere. On arrival, we had a short taxi to the terminal, then there was no queue at immigration. There was friendly staff to help people if needed. Baggage delivery took however about 30 mins, which is too long.

Simply the worst airport I have ever used. Extraordinarily poor layout and worse signage. Many facilities don't work: when I came off the RER to catch my flight home only two of the eight exit gates were working causing a huge bottleneck stretching all the way back down the stairs onto the platform. Then the big departure board was only working on one side. The speedy check-in consoles weren't working properly either. Check-in was straightforward, but nowhere near enough staff on duty at passport control caused huge queues. Staff are often (but not always) sullen and unhelpful. At the boarding gate for the flight (onto a small FlyBe plane with access only to the front of the plane) all passengers were called forward simultaneously, instead of by rows from the back of the plane (which would be standard practice from the UK airport) causing chaos on board the plane as passengers tried to stow their luggage in the overhead lockers etc. Also, we were called to board, had boarding cards and passports checked, then four metres beyond the boarding gate had our passports checked again, only to have to wait for ten minutes on a bridge, as clearly the plane wasn't ready. There were a lot of young families on our flight - why were young children made to wait on a bridge like that quite unnecessarily, rather than spend an additional ten minutes sitting in the warm in the departure lounge? The previous time I flew through CDG was last summer and was through Terminal 3 (February's trip was through Terminal 2). Terminal 3 is even worse than Terminal 2 - little more than a glorified shed with a dreadful lack of facilities. When flying back in to (in my case) Exeter or Bristol Airport, you are reminded of how an airport ought to be run, and how shameful it is that France's flagship airport should be so bad. In short, if you can use any other hub in Europe, DO IT! Schiphol, Heathrow, Frankfurt are all far better than CDG.

How on earth they've managed to mess up a seemingly newly designed Terminal 2F is beyond me. Superficially looks great with very impressive architecture and very clean but sadly they forgot to provide facilities other than stupidly expensive designer outlets. Hardly anywhere to eat or drink except bizarrely little cafe pits in one spur or downstairs in another where loads of room has resulted in two more tiny cafes. All sell virtually same thing. Completely miss any balance in services and you cant get a mobile signal. Brilliant.

Paris CDG is one of the best airports for me. I like the big 'Welcome to Paris' posters they have on your way to immigration. Facilities are great. The airport is spotless. Staff are friendly and they try their best to speak English if you are non-French.

This is absolutely the worst large international airport I have been to. Confusing signage, impersonal agents, gates miles apart, and the layout is a giant cluster of traffic. I avoid this airport at all costs. The ticket agents are robots and are offended if you do not speak French, no matter how much of a hurry or how desperate you are, you must say "Bonjour" or you are invisible.