Paris CDG Airport

Had an interconnecting flight from Toulouse (TLS) to Berlin (TXL). I arrived at Terminal F and had to go to Terminal D. I thought that's easy but it isn't. I am an experienced traveller and had problems to orient myself and find my way to Terminal D. I just had 45 minutes of interconnection time and I barely made it. What I criticise most is not only the lack of clear signs but also that you practically leave the airport when you change terminals. This means that even when you have an interconnecting flight from a "Schengen" country to another you have to pass the security check all over again! Terminal change in FRA is also a mess (because of the long distances) but in FRA and MUC for instance you don't have to pass the Security when you take a connecting flight from and to Schengen countries. I will avoid CDG in the future and book LH over FRA or MUC!

CDG is my candidate for the worst airport in the world as it can't even get the basics right. Terminal 2E is very flashy but stupidly designed as in summer it gets uncomfortably hot. Although there are air vents you can still smell the stale smoke from the smokers' lounge. For a massive airport there is very little in the way of shops. When you travel you expect to see the familiar coffee shops which are a little overpriced but CDG has a few restaurants and that's it. A sandwich in one of their fusion bistros was 13€. Staff were nowhere to be found most of the time. I had the misfortune of existing for one security personnel who decided my Duty Free was over the 100ml limit and therefore couldn't be brought. Yes she confiscated my sealed unopened security bag and dumped it in a bin. A pathetic excuse for an airport that leave a rotten taste in the mouth for the city of Paris.

Horrible airport! Incredibly unfriendly staff and an over complicated airport design. Typical French attitude towards customer service i.e 'shrug the shoulders' and have done with it. Many of my friends have confirmed that they have had similar experiences.

CDG is easily the worst airport in a modern country that I have ever experienced. Missing are key ingredients to make a traveller's navigation easy. Flight monitors are either non-existent or seldom found. I personally never found even one when I exited my connecting flight. I had to use old information to assume where my flight might depart since current information is not available anywhere. The security screening process is chaotic bizarre and mindless. After exiting this nightmare I had to stand in line at an information counter to find I had to take a bus to yet another terminal which itself had no information on flights or gates without standing in yet another information line. Once I could talk to a person I found that there were no "gates" available one had to continue checking a monitor because gates would magically appear there 15 minutes prior to the flight. Then Air France left my luggage on the tarmac and refused to load it as they said it wasn't mine when I complained. Avoid the place and avoid Air France if you can.

A family of 3 we were coming from the UK with a change over at Paris and final destination Sofia. Our plane from England was on time and we were only given 30 minutes to get on the shuttle bus to our plane in Paris. We got there on time and we were told that the shuttle bus was coming we checked the board and it said final call for our plane. We were provided with very little assistance and the people there simply did not care. The shuttle bus ride was 20 minutes. By the time we got to our gate our plane had left. We were directed to the customer service where we were booked on another flight. When we arrived in Sofia 3 hours late we found out our luggage had not been delivered. It's now been 4 days and only 2 out of the 3 suitcases have been put on Air France to Sofia. We still have no news of the other one.

VLC-CDG-ATL. What a mess. I'll try to avoid CDG airport in the future. When I connected through Paris I had to leave the secure area with the complete family just to start the security mess all over again. The passenger walk areas are packed with lines so it is very hard to get from one side to another. We got separated multiple times. To get from one flight to another requires a lot of walking and mind reading. I do not know what the airport planners had on their mind when they planned this mess. Signs are a joke. You have to know what gate belongs to what terminal. Before the customs some firm is checking that your carry- on is not overweight. If so they send you back to the lines to check in the personal items you do not want to check-in. It does not matter if you are just connecting. The staff that tries to help are untrained and can't even read boarding passes. Air conditioning seems to be not existent. Food in the new Terminal is awful. They offer microwave food to self microwave it. Is that French cuisine? Microwaves are without English instruction sets. We watched several people messing up their food because they only have instructions on the box and appliances. Besides the usual laptop the security wanted every cable iPod iPad usb stick phone camera lenses plugs outside in the plastic bin. The very rude security people did not care if the belt pushed the bins on top of each other making items falling to the ground. If this is the best they can do for foreigners that was nothing.

We had a similar experience as many other travelers in this airport. There seems to an intentional work slowdown on the part of customs officials in this airport. For travelers who did not need to make connections there were 3 customs officers. For those trying to make their connecting flights there was only one with hundreds of travelers in the line. When additional customs officials arrived they also went to service those who had no connecting flights. No doubt many travelers missed their flights as a result. We missed ours even though we had over 2 hours to make the connection. Speaking to other travelers upon our return we found that many had identical experiences. In the future we are not going to be flying through this airport. There is always a problem. And in the event that there isn't one they will create one.

CDG is a total nightmare if you have to connect flights. Recently flew in there from Florence to connect with a flight to Aberdeen Scotland. We landed 10 minutes early but had to wait on the tarmac for a 'bus which then took 35 minutes to get to Terminal 2G another wait for a 'bus there to go to Terminal 2E. Confusion on the 'bus as many people hadn't checked the display beside the exit door of 2G to see which 'bus stop they had to get off at (no notice to warn people of this). By the time we got to our gate (running from the 'bus) the gate was closed and the passengers had gone. Again for the Aberdeen flight you have to catch a 'bus to the aircraft so if the 'bus has gone that's it. To add insult to injury we were held responsible for missing the flight because the incoming flight was on time and the connection time was within the limits set by the airport. Cynical thought - if they set a realistic limit customers would think twice before connecting at CDG.

3 interactions in a weekend - arrival with BA from LHR into T2A Thursday meeting family on AF from MCR in 2E Friday lunchtime and departing AF to MCR through 2E Monday evening. Arrival was smooth place was quiet and luggage came through quickly. Finding the bus to our on-airport hotel was tricky due to poor signage and walk seemed endless. Arrivals area for meeting the family was dark low ceilings and depressing - makes a poor impression on someone coming to Paris for the first time - took family 70 minutes to come through - almost as long as the flight - waiting for luggage. Check-in for departure was smooth but arriving at the passport control line an hour before our 18.05 flight it took us 45 minutes to work our way through the line and security. For the first 25 minutes only 3 or 4 of the posts were open and business class line was empty. No attempt to re-balance lines and several requests made of staff were met with a Gallic shoulder shrug. 6 more booths opened up at 17.30 and eventually made it through in time to walk onto the bus which left immediately for T2F. Overall a depressing and underwhelming experience.

A big airport and I would avoid if you are travelling with children or have a tight transfer. Arrived at Terminal 2E and seemed to walk endlessly along moving sidewalks and down escalators to reach a train that took us to another part of the airport. Immigration lines weren't too bad. Once out of the airport I had to walk back to the RER train station which is situated directly underneath Terminal 2E! Thankfully the departure process is more straightforward and I was at check in less than 5 minutes after arriving at the train station. Queues at border control and then security were both less than 5 minutes. Shops in Terminal 2 are expensive. We were bussed to the plane which was on a remote stand somewhere. The taxi to the runway took almost 25 minutes!