Paris CDG Airport

Terminal 2E is architecturally rather impressive and worked well on my visit (a Friday evening). I already had a boarding card so did not need to check-in there were queues for passport checks and security but they were well managed and only about 5 minutes each. Once airside there is plentiful seating and I found the ambience quite peaceful. I do agree though that the signage could be better some gates are underneath the main area and it is not clear until you are close to the escalator. Also the selection of food outlets is poor and the only shopping appeared to be very expensive luxury goods and 'duty free' that is more expensive than supermarkets.

After reading reviews about CDG I was a bit worried because we were flying out of there to Mauritius. Surprised about how everything was well organised. Our flight had an engine problem and we couldn't fly out on the scheduled date the Air France staff were very helpful and professional. Of course because the airport is huge you have to queue up most of the time. We flew out of Terminal 2E.

Paris CDG Airport has 3 entirely separate terminals - and in my mind should really be considered as 3 separate airports by this site as my experience at terminals 1 and 2 have been totally different (I've not visited Terminal 3). Terminal 1 is an elegant (if unusual) design of concentric circles and radial pods which efficiently separate 'airside' (inner circle) and 'ground side' (outer circle). Food is readily available at numerous snack bars plus an excellent Terrace restaurant accessible by lift beside the main bar. Shopping is plentiful and easy to find as you walk around the inner circle. Terminal 2 is the worst airport I have visited. It is separated into around six 'sub-terminals' which again are probably deserving of separate reviews. Terminal 2E is the only one I have visited and it is confusing poorly laid out and lacking in basic facilities. The shops are scattered in a random pattern making finding any one location a matter of trial and error - you can't even walk round them all efficiently. Worse for the gastronomic capital of the world the food is dire - a 'multi-cultural' food court serving microwaved curry pasta or lasagne is the only alternative to a stale sandwich or wilted salad. Further the staff just don't care. The terminal is over-staffed - 3 separate people to make sure you're in the right queue at security - yet on multiple occasions I have been 'suspended' for 5-10 minutes when the security staff decided to go on a break while my hand luggage was half way through the scanner and I had to wait until the next staff member arrived to continue my screening. Avoid at all costs!

Worst airport I have ever been too. Dirty no facilities restaurants and bars overpriced. Cheapest cup of coffee I could find was almost 5 Euros. Air France so called customer service unacceptable. Long queues. Unfriendly. No wonder - the customer service in glass and you could speak to the employees only through a small hole in the glass.

Paris was a connection airport between Detroit and Minsk. Not only were the security staff rude the queues were abysmal. We had a 3 hours between our next flights and it took 2 hours just to get to the next terminal. They managed to lose our baggage both there and back. The stores are far too expensive for the average person and don't expect a lot of food options either.

My wife and I suffer from arthritis and are 75 years of age. Concerned that we might not be able to walk long distances we requested assistance at CDG Paris. Arrived in Paris on 3/1/13 on flight AF0347. Asked to wait in the immediate arrival lobby with no departure information. The time of our next flight was within 45 mins I pointed this out to the supervisor and was ignored. I requested information as to how far it was to the departure gate and was told she did not have this information. I later found the departure gate was very close and we could have easily made the flight. We missed our flight and had to travel to Bristol via Dublin arriving at our destination 7 hours behind schedule feeling very tired. When we arrived at Bristol we were further delayed by having to report that our luggage had been lost – we are still waiting its recovery.

Possibly the most inefficient and rude passport control and security staff I have ever experienced. For some years I have avoided CDG as they always lost my luggage when in transit without fail. Thought it was worth a second try as I was actually going to Paris Sunday evening with only 2 jokers manning border control (and intentionally taking more time than required) left us in a queue for about 45 mins to pass through customs (and we are EU citizens). Then drama at customs as my wife was subjected to a frisk and then sarcastic examination of her hand luggage as punishment for complaining about it. Is this making us safer? A real disgrace.

Flight was fine but they never put our luggage on the plane. I was told from the customer service staff at Delta Airlines this is standard procedure for Paris CDG. She said this is what Paris CDG is famous for. It is not rocket science to get a bag on a plane. Three days later no luggage. If you can fly out of another location you better do so.

Terminal 2 is to avoid at all costs disgusting treatment of passengers. Flew back from JFK arrived at 6.30 am - tired after overnight flight but thinking this early in the morning there won't be many people around! Was horrified and very surprised to find huge queues at passport control 30 minutes before passing through. We had a 7 month old baby and no help whatsoever.

Words cannot describe how awful this airport really is. My most recent experience was departing Paris back in October. Signage in Terminal 2 was vague and confusing I finally found the check in desk to find massive and disorganised queues for the Air France automatic and manual check in systems. Signage and organisation here was terrible. I waited 20mins to get to the automatic check in machine only to find out that I'm not allowed to use it because I am flying codeshare with Qantas. I then joined a second queue which stretched out of the check in area itself and waited another 20mins before an Air France staff member took my passport and ran off with it to get my boarding pass. Finally got to the queue for the check in and bag drop waited another 30mins to find that their baggage carousel had broken down and was redirected to another check in desk for the bag drop. Staff member was old and rude refused to speak English and refused to send my bag to Singapore even though Qantas said it would be OK to access my baggage during transit. By this stage I had a nice 30mins to get to my plane before it departs. Bear in mind I arrived 2.5 hours before my flight was due to depart. Security staff were rude and unprofessional as were the boarding gate staff. I made it on the plane just as the last passengers were getting on.