Paris CDG Airport

I have been using CDG airport at least twice a month for 10 years. As underlined by many the airport should be treated under 4 separate sections T1 (Star Alliance) T2 ABCD (One World and certain Skyteam) T2 EFG (Air France and main Skyteam) and T3 (charter flights). T1 is typically 1960's and poorly adapted to the security requirements od 2013 but it has been completely re-organised and stuff have improved dramatically knowing that it is not a terminal for transit passengers. T2 ABCD is being rebuilt not great let's say average but they can be problematic if you have a connection from ABCD to EFG as you will have to walk a lot/take a shuttle and pass security once again but I read that they are currently building a "corridor" for transit passengers that will no longer have to pass security in the future. T2 EFG E and F are architectural jewels but it is a pity to see that the lack of proper organisation makes passengers' experience so unpleasant. Okay if you fly within Schengen but otherwise expect unorganised long immigration queues. The T2 EF in themselves are great terminals but the problem is all these small details which make the passengers' experience unpleasant. T3 is a normal charter/low cost terminal very basic but not bad. To sum up CDG airport is actually good but its problem is its heterogeneous terminals and the bad staff organisation despite the facilities which are good in themselves. It looks like ADP are doing a lot to improve their image and their service massive improvements have already taken place and let's hope that they will continue because so far the service has tended to completely ruin the passengers' experiences in this nice airport.

I'd only ever flown into Terminal 1 before at Paris and although the design of Terminal 1 is pretty unconventional I always managed to arrive/ depart from it reasonably easily. However on my latest trip this weekend I flew on Air France and had to endure the absolute fiasco that is Terminal 2. The layout of Terminal 2 is simply woeful. This is compounded further by the general inefficiency associated with any process that you need to follow within France. On arrival the combination of a shuttle ride long walks along endless corridors long queues at passport control slow baggage processing and insane queues at the Terminal 2 RER station's ticketing machines meant it took me over 2 hours from landing to being sat on the RER to Paris. Unfortunately the return leg was no better. Signage was a total farce the electronic check in is pointless as the service is duplicated by the baggage drop off desk (which had a major queue backlog) passport control and security are hopelessly slow and when you finally get through to the departure lounge gate area - there are nothing but handbag shops. The area serving the 'K' gates needs a proper food court with a decent selection of outlets with quick turn around times - the small restaurant area on the 1st floor is just pathetic. Having lived in France for a good few years I always leave plenty of extra time because things tend to happen slowly. However CDG is just beyond a joke. It is too big too cumbersome too slow and a nightmare to navigate. Use the Eurostar instead.

It really is as bad as the other reviews suggest! At the Air France check-in they don't seem to understand that an electronic check-in followed by a bag drop should be quicker and easier. Printed off my boarding pass and luggage tag then had a join a ridiculously long queue to drop my bag off. Was there over 90 minutes before the flight but still had to be jumped ahead by a member of staff as it was nearly time to board. To top it all when I got to the bag drop desk the lady automatically printed off a new boarding pass and luggage tag so no wonder the queue was moving so slowly. The security check was more queuing. Can't comment on any airport facilities as there was no time to use them! The shops and cafes must be for people who miss their flight due to the inefficient check-in and security procedures. Never again!

I travel on business frequently to Europe and due to very bad experiences in the past I tried to avoid CDG as much as I could but last week was the best connection via CDG and it was amazingly good. I arrived at Terminal 2 G and signs were in English and there was an internal bus to 2E (typical international departures). Transfer was quick and good with the yellow line and since I am frequent flyer I went to the lounge which had good hot and cold food all kinds of beverages and international magazines. Big enough and staff speak English friendly and helpful. That was not typical in the past. Just got back yesterday and arrived 2E and had to transfer to 2G. Airport is still confusing but also clear signs in English baggage check bus transfer passport check and it is possible to transfer in 45 minutes or less. With all the bad experiences in the past I was really surprised how CDG approved and I definitely put it back on the hubs I want to use.

Absolutely the worst airport I have been to - even the provincial airports of France are nicer and more friendly. We flew through with Air France in transit through Terminal 2E apparently the newest bit. I am not sure who designed it but it is incredibly confusing and signposting is effectively non existent. We had a 5 hr lay over and where greeted with bottles of water at 3.90 euros a bottle (500ml) the food was even more outrageous. I would rather fly via anywhere else in the future even if it meant a longer lay over.

On 3 occasions recently myself and or members of my family have made Air France flight connections through this airport. On each occasion Air France's scheduling was tight and the ensuing connection was a nightmare. There is a requirement to go through security even though passengers making connections have already passed through security at the airport(s) of departure. Very long queues can build up at security with many anxious passengers haranguing airport staff to accelerate their progress. Walks between gates can be long with ups and downs and connecting trains all adding to the stress. Avoid at all costs if you can! On one occasion my wife and I successfully made a transfer but our baggage failed to be loaded onto the plane and we arrived in equatorial Singapore with only the winter clothes in which we had travelled.

Worst airport I've been to. Super confusing layout. Signs don't make any sense. The security staff refuse to speak English to you even though I overhead them speaking English to the person in-front of me. They pulled apart my carry on and stood there yelling in French. I told them I didn't speak French. After about 2 minutes of me just standing there while they yelled at me they magically spoke perfect English and told me I could go. I will never fly Air France or through CDG ever again.

I have already written a number of reviews about CDG but never about terminal G and in CDG every terminal has its own peculiarities. It is dedicated to the "Schengen" flights in other words flights between European countries that have signed an agreement suppressing customs between them. If you are on foot or rental car you must take the internal railway in one of the other terminals. This looks very much like a small city airport where (if you are lucky) you walk to the plane (otherwise it's a bus sometimes for ridiculously small distances). The good thing is that the baggage check and safety control are most of the time very quick then you arrive in the single hall. Although there is a lot of seating and the rotation is quick (bigger planes here are A320s) it may be difficult to find a seat at certain times. Flights gates are normally given 20 minutes before boarding but quite often less so it can be a rush. Main concerns are the food : only one "snack" with insufficient seating where you can have some kind of fancy sandwiches and salads and I've never have one that was good even the very limited choice of cakes is bad. It's to the point that putting a McDonalds would be a huge improvement! And the fact that even in this configuration of smaller planes no passport control they managed to have 30 min delay in our flight to Florence ! For people transferring from others terminals add at least 1/2 hour around 3 hours is a reasonable transfer time.

Terrible airport. Flew in to Paris from Manchester. Arrived via a filthy airbridge with waiting scowling staff and then shuffled through approx a mile of filthy bleak corridors to immigration. Immigration officer decided to ask questions in French and refused to explain what he meant in any other language. Luggage took 50 minutes to arrive and number of people failed to receive theirs at all. Toilets exactly as one would expect. Whole place has a terribly sad feel of neglect and despondency. Staff are morose and belligerent prices for anything food or drink wise are extraordinary. Needs money time and a cultural change.

What a terrible airport Paris-CDG. The only reason for me to fly via CDG was because we could get on the A380 for a fairly cheap price. Connecting in Paris from Amsterdam was horrible. Again long queues very unfriendly barely if any English speaking staff and overcrowded and overpriced retail. Signage was very vague compared to Schiphol were it is much easier. Avoid flying from CDG at any time especially as a transit passenger!