CDG- passport control help-
 

We fly from ATL- CDG on Delta and switch to Air France- in at 2e and out at 2F- we have a 1:50 layover- is that enough time for PP control/customs?

on return we fly BCN- CDG on Air France 1:20 layover in at 2F and out at 2E- -Delta assures me it is enough time-no PP control until ATL.. please someone confirm this that has done this recently...

The Aeroports de Paris website includes directions for transfer to a corresponding flight. It is somewhat cryptic about your route:

"Follow signs for «Connecting flights»
If you do not yet have your second boarding pass, go to the company connecting flights desk of your next flight
→ Follow signs for «Terminal 2F»
→ Go through the Security checks
→ Go through the Police border check and Customs
→ Check your boarding gate on the information screens
→ Follow the signs to your boarding gate: gates F21 to 36 or gates F41 to F56"

This raises some doubt about the info from Delta, repping AF in the USA. I have encountered security controls for movement between various parts of Terminal 2.
You can also look at the Access section of the Aeroport site (opening page; blue buttons on left side) to retrieve and copy maps of the terminals. http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/en/pa...ecting-flights

Air France's website estimates a 30-minute minimum from 2E to F and mentions checkpoints: http://www.airfrance.us/US/en/common...s_parcours.htm

Eighty minutes on the return flight is possible but very tight for CdG. That interval starts ticking when the plane lands, not when you enter the terminal. Even if you make it, your checked luggage may not. Flying west, you will almost certainly go through a security check at the departure lounge, possibly inspecting hand luggage. And they want to close the cabin door a half hour before stated departure. So forget about duty-free shopping.

I would be worried about the 1:50 layover. I like 2 1/4 hrs at the minimum. If your flight is not more than 45 mins late arriving - there should be no problem, however. We fly RT to CDG about twice a year. This year we flew SFO to CDG to Montpellier & had a 1:50 min layover. Many months before the flight, AF bumped the flight up 30 mins giving us about a 1:20 hr layover. I immediately changed the flight to Montpellier for the "next" flight. Our SFO to CDG flight was 1 hr late. No way would we have made the first connection.

I would never book a 1:20 connection. There IS some sort of exit passport control leaving France - but lines are not as long as they are in entering.

Stu Dudley

I would not be comfortable with those connections...CDG can be a nightmare airport...if you look at some air travel forums and ask people that transit that airport sometimes weekly about tight connections at CDG...it is notorious. If you can change anything at this point I would allow more time.

CDG is can be a real can of worms. If a bunch of flights from the US arrive at the same time the line for passport control (non-EU) can be very long - then you have to trek to the next gate, going through security again - so if your plane is at all late you can have issues.

There is no way I would take a 1:20 minute connection to the US - which usually has multiple security checks before boarding.

The layover time distribution is against your favor. You want more time on your return leg.

Unless there was a secret passage I didn't know, the 2E to 2F connection gets you out of the secure area if you follow the signs.

On outbound leg, you go through a passport control to exit 2E, then carry-on security line waits you at 2F.

On inbound leg, you do the passport control as well as carry-on security check to enter secure part of 2E. For U.S. return, both can be unpredictable. If there was a security incident, made public or not, they can change the security clearance procedure back to the U.S. on a fly.

also increased security is sure to follow worldwide after the events in Egypt.

CDG is one of the worst airports in the world for making connections. Moving between terminals 2F and 2E involves a bus, elevators, passport control, security checkpoints, and long walks. We normally try to avoid CDG, but were forced by Delta to use CDG in September after they cancelled our direct flight to ATL. It took well over an hour to get between 2F and 2E to make our connection. I wouldn't be comfortable with anything less than 2 hours -- or better yet -- a different airport.

We are putting up with a 5 hour layover in CDG later this month which is a drag. Air France wanted to schedule us on a continuing flight 90 minutes after landing from the US west coast and having to move from Terminal 2E to 2G. Doesn't sound bad until you read the CDG website: "Terminal 2G is a remote terminal and can only be reached by free shuttle bus (route N2) to-from the terminal 2F". So we chose a much later connection. Now I read brdcollie's comments above and see that it will be time consuming to get between 2E and 2F! Thanks for the heads up.

You are not changing airline alliance on this trip, so the connection will be no problem. AF will have a list of all passengers connecting to AF and will be waiting for you to assist you with the transfer, which will be very quick because 2E and 2F are right next to each other.

CDG 2E and 2F terminals may be physically located next to each other, but depending on the arrival gate and and departure gate it will often require transfers by shuttle buses, and passing through passport control and security checkpoints. All depends on which concourse or hall you arrive and depart from. Not sure about BCN, but some in-bound flights from smaller European airports (VCE for example) may not even arrive at the 2F terminal itself, but will require disembarking on the tarmac for transfer to the arriving terminal by bus. Then, for example, continuing on to the M gates at 2E will require lining up for the Blue shuttle bus or the people mover. More than likely your return flight to ATL will be out of M concourse in terminal 2E. There is nothing "very quick" about the Paris airport for Delta/AF US bound flights. In September the AF "assistance" consisted of an agent pointing to the sign for the start of our journey from 2F to 2E concourse M. Is 1:20 connection CDG doable? Probably, if everything goes perfectly. But I would not be comfortable with it to make a connection for a long flight returning to ATL.

yes tell the people running almost in tears around that airport about the "alliance" that really makes it better. Yes sometimes they do very well getting passengers to a waiting plane...nothing worse than coming onto a waiting plane with no overhead storage left and ready to collapse. For most here you are on vacation and I always do all possible to make it a pleasant experience...tight connections generally are stressful and to be avoided.

I never took a shuttle between 2 E and 2 F.

Easily walkable.

If you are on one ticket luggage are taken care of.

If flight arrives late and you are on a big connection the next may wait.

Don't overthink it. If the air company sells this journey it is because it is doable

Mvg

If you miss the connection, AF will put you on the next flight to Barcelona anyway, so there is absolutely no point in booking a later flight. Also it would reduce the chance of receiving the generous EU compensation for delayed flights if the DL flight gets in late.

"AF will put you on the next flight to Barcelona anyway"

IF there is space. That is NOT a given these days.

We have had problems making connections at CDG, and we've never encountered any helpful Air France employees eager to speed us on our way. Quite the contrary; we've been given wrong directions there. My husband now absolutely refuses to pass through CDG as transit passengers.

above comment Kerouac made regarding putting on next flight to BCN...that does not really address the issue...it is a very short connection from BCN to CDG and going to ATL. That reroute would not be easy or fun.

Surely there will be passport control at CDG on the return leg - you are leaving Schengen there so have to go through Passport control there. Delta is wrong I think. You will have to go through security again too.

I would opt for more time for the transfer. I would rather be bored out of my head at an airport waiting for my onward fight than panicking to catch it.

I usually accept short connections and let them rebook me if I miss the flight. I've never had a great delay as a result. Once I even arrived at my final destination sooner than I had planned. I was going to Philadelphia, but found a much cheaper flight to Newark; I was planning to take the train from there. I missed a short connection in Munich, and Lufthansa put me on a direct flight to Philadelphia.

Whether it is no problem or not being put on a next available flight or not depends on individuals and circumstances.

Financially, yes, there is no direct immediate outlay. For some people, the direct financial consideration is all that matters.

However, for those who also consider opportunity and consequential costs, there are uncompensated expenses.

You might have to take a more expensive ground transportation to complete your trip. If your accommodation has surcharge for late arrival or check-in cutoff, you have find fund these also. You might also miss visiting a place that is only open on the day of arrival.

If you have carefully chosen a seat for a long flight, this also goes out of the window. I was stuck next to a flushing toilet with people standing next to me all the time for 10 hours when Delta flight missed a connection.

And finally, you might make it to the alternate flight, but not your checked luggage. This can happen if the next available flight requires you to rush rush to the gate.

The missed connection also can happen at better connected airports with more layover time. However, this is a matter of probability. Some connections at some airports are more likely to lead to foul ups than the others.