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charles de gaulle- now required to arrive 3 hours before flight
Hi. When we booked our flight to Paris, we were told by AA that we must arrive 3 hours before our flight in CDG. Is this standard? Thanks.
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With the approach of the tourist season, it is becoming standard.
However, if you have absolutely everything in order (boarding passes, seat assignments...), you can do everything in much less time. The only thing of which to be wary is how long it takes to clear security at certain times. |
CDG is a zoo. We always try to avoid it, but when we can't, we get there three hours early because the security lines can be very long.
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When you get to CDG, you will need to get on a security line at AA, and then another to get your boarding passes and/or check luggage. The line may be moved along by the use of boarding pass kiosks, if they are working.
Once you do that, you then have to go through passport control and security screening. That is usually easy. But, when you leave the AA counters and go to your right to get to the "airside" of the terminal, do NOT go through the first screening area you see! They are on the wrong side of the immigration area and it is difficult to get around that. Sometimes it is necessary to go up stairs (no escalator) through a restaurant area, and down another flight of steps to get to the AA gates. Walk further east and go through the second set of screening gates. That will put you close to the AA gates and the Admirals club. If you have more than 90 minutes to wait, you might consider going to the Admirals Club and seeing if they will sell you a day pass ($50 for 2 people in the US) which may be worth it if the waiting area is crowded. |
Who said France didn't understand capitalism? All the revenue from restaurants, duty free stores, etc.; triple what a one hour prequel would generate.
Next thing you know, we'll be forced to go thru the gift shop in order to exit: the Louvre; Eiffel Tower; Versailles; Mont-St-Michel; etc. After that, gift shops before both the entrance and exit doors to the lavatory. |
For flights to the States - yes this is standard.
The last AA flight I had out of CDG - we arrived even earlier because there was much less traffic than we expected. My friend and I were numbers 4 and 5 in line for check in. Even before you get to check in at the counter there is a pre-screening interview. Well - the 3 men in front of us hit all the hot buttons - from Syria and Kuwait, all going to a scientific conference in Houston by way of Dallas, on last minute tix, not knowing the name of their hotel in Houston, etc etc. (we could overhear all of the various interviewers) Anyway - at first there was ONE interviewer and she took 30 minutes w/ just the first man and still hadn't cleared him. Then out came another screener to start with #2. Then a supv came out about 5 mins later and joined in questioning #1. Finally a 3rd screener came on duty and started interviewing #3. By then we had been in line for over an hour and were not any closer to the check in counter -- and behind us there were at least 250 people in line. My friend and I were finally pre-screened more than 80 minutes after queueing up - and we were at the front of the line. They held the flight approx 15 mins and there were folks streaming on and complaining loudly about being in the line the entire time. They sure didn't have time to shop/eat before boarding. Yes - this was a special case and not typical - but any little glitch can really impact you at CDG. |
Just a hint... if you have an EARLY morning flight call your airline and find out what time they open.
I have arrived at several airports in the wee hours to find that my "three" hours was useless becuase XYX airline wasn't open yet LOL! |
I've always planned to arrive at CDG 3 hours in advance for years now. I don't think it has anything to do with CDG and capitalism, and suspect it isn't some legal requirement at all by CDG, just advice. Ignore it at your own risk, but if you miss your plane, I think it will cost you a lot.
You never know how long it will take to get through, I've had terrible experience with every airline I've flown out of there at times (AA was the worst, but I've had unexpected delays with both AF and United, also). Lots of airlines may advise you to get to the airport 3 hours in advance, but I've never heard of one saying it was a "requirement" to check-in that far in advance. Is that what they really said? I know they do have time limits that if you aren't there by that point, you can be denied boarding and can lose the value of your fare. AA has held me up hours and days at CDG due to their incompetence and bad planes, too bad they don't treat their customers better. Last time I ever flew them out of there, I boarded two planes that malfunctioned (two days in a row, they couldn't even get a plane there the same day to replace the first one so we had to stay at CDG overnight). We finally got out on the third plane. I just viewed the AA website and it simply said 3 hrs is the "recommended" check-in time at CDG, that's all. The official limit is you must check-in 60 minutes in advance, and you must be at the gate 30 min. before departure. |
I thought "3 hours" has been the recommended arrival for international flights for years now, not just CDG.
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Three hours ahead of flight time has been standard for years now, and even before it was I always got there 3 hours ahead. Better to end up with time on your hands then hit some glitch, which is easy to do at CDG, and miss your flight.
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Anyway, check-in for international flights closes 45 minutes before departure, so that is the <b>real</b> rule.
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"I thought "3 hours" has been the recommended arrival for international flights for years now, not just CDG."
Certainly not. At London City Airport, checkin time for international flights remains 10 minutes. There's precisely one standard rule: <b> There's no "standard" check in time </b> Most airlines have different times, even at the same terminal for the same destination at the same airport, for people who've checked in online, for people with no bags to check in and for premium class passengers. It's the airline that decides. And only they know the answer to your question under your particular circumstances. |
"I thought "3 hours" has been the recommended arrival for international flights for years now, not just CDG."
For AA international it is, since they do not allow online check-in for all international flights due to security, whereas other airlines flying to/from the US do not have this issue and allow online checkin. You can use self service machines once at the airport. Returning from DFW last week, they only had one check-in line for both domestic and international lines, so you got caught up with all the people whose domestic flights were cancelled due to bad weather (to ORD,NYC etc). There was no ticket desk, rebooking for those cancelled flts had to take place at checkin desk. If you used the self service machines, you had to wait until your name was called to be able to drop bags. AA is a most unpleasant airline to fly on. |
Certainly at Schiphol 3 hours before is standard for transcontinental flights, and 2 hours for European flights, and has been for a very long time.
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Arriving three hours before a flight has been the case for a very very long time when flying from Australia to Europe.
As CdG is an absolute black hole three hours is necessary to get through the ineptitude! |
Give yourself the 3 hours, you'll need it - CDG is a disaster.
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Actually, it is less CDG airport itself that is a disaster than the passengers. As the most visited city in the world, it has more than its share of newbies at all times, who don't know if they are coming or going. I have always noticed that it takes me something like 45 seconds to check in while the majority of people seem to take at least 4 or 5 minutes. Some of the check-in agents have told me that the questions range from "what are they serving on the plane?" to "is the movie any good?"
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I booked an AirTransat ticket from Montreal to Athens the other day. The AitTransat website says to be 5 HOURS early for the flight! Your 4 hours sounds not so bad... Rob |
I don't mean to set off an international incident, but it is not the newbies who are the problem at CDG. The airport is very poorly organized, although the same could be said of many major cities' airports these days- JFK, LHR, etc.
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I would recommend at least three hours to anyone, even if not required. We arrived a bit over two hours early and came VERY close to missing the plane. The level of disorganization and ineffeciency is astounding.
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Kerouac - am I deducing from your comments that *if* one can preprint their boarding passes (as <u>Continental</u> as told me is possible for Int'l flights), then one can *skip* the airline counter and just go to Passport Control, Security and the Gate? What if we miss the "did you pack this bag yourself?" interrogation and don't get the little security stickers on our carryon bags..?
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Nobody really looks at those stickers. After all, a professional terrorist can take those off of any bag and put them on any other bag. Only really really naive palinized tourists could possibly believe that a little security sticker means anything.
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Janis said:
<i>"Even before you get to check in at the counter there is a pre-screening interview."</i> and that's exactly where I always find the glitch to be, as well! It's frustrating to see the lines next to you moving along while I always seem to get in the one with people in front of me who need a lot of time for this--don't speak the language, hit the "hot buttons" or, in one case, the person doing the screening was new and very unsure of herself! My upcoming CDG adventures (next Tuesay arrival, Nov. 18th departure) should be lovely nightmares. I have to get from 2D to 2F for a departure 1.5 hours after arrival at CDG (and must be at the gate 45 minutes before take-off, which leaves us 45 minutes) I really had no choice in this selection. On the return home we have to depart CDG at 7:50 a.m. -- again, no choice--so we're spending our last night in Paris in an airport hotel! I'll be looking for an open cafe kiosk at 5:50 a.m.! |
From NYC any interntional flights are a 3 hour check in.
If you're Business or First you can get by with less - if you go cattle car you do so at your peril. I've seen security lines at AA that had more than 500 people in them - all being asked a bunch of questions. |
Travelnut - You will get asked those questions at the secondary screening before you board the plane. Same thing in most airports for flights to the US if you can print your BP and have no bags to check.
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maybe the fact that Schiphol now have shares in the Paris airports will improve them - you can but hope.
As long as the Paris airports also having shares in Schiphol doesn't have the reverse effect! |
I haven't noticed too many complaints about CDG here since the summer ended.
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Tha's because they all decided to fly out of London City airport I guess.
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Just returned from CDG on Monday. While it wasn't a nightmare, it wasn't what I remembered from my last trip to Paris in 2004. We flew on USAir, which was very pleasant. The arrivals process was smooth. So was the departure process, but my complaint is with the duty-free shopping and eating venues once you pass through the final security point. I guess we were at Terminal 1, the oldest in the airport. When we finally arrived at the gate, there was just one tiny cafe open, which at 12 noon had run out of sandwiches on baguettes. When I decided I wanted a couple of pastries, I pulled out my credit card, having used up all my euros before entering the gate area. They didn't accept credit cards. That made me angry, because I was hungry. I ate something before I entered the gate area, but my husband and I were still hungry and figured we could get something before we boarded. And the duty-free shopping was the worst I have ever seen anywhere in the world. Of course, my husband was thrilled, but it was very disappointing that once you arrived at the gate, that was it. At FCO in Rome, the shopping was fantastic.
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We also just returned to Australia from Europe last week, via CdG, and to my mind it's now worse than ever.
Nothing to do with shopping as far as I'm concerned, but with the shabby, chaotic, poorly planned and badly signed place that it is. As an example of why it's essential to get there three hours before (in fact we made it four hours!) there is now pre screening directly prior to check in and before customs, or security. This consisted of one person holding a rope across the line, which stretched back on itself it was so long. This person's job was to very, very, very slowly check passports (checked again later, twice!) and to ask "do you have any lipstick" of every woman in the line. As most people flying internationally are well aware now of the liquids and gels rule and had their little plastic bags out already I do not understand this pre check in routine. The collection of baggage continues to be a nightmare, as do the surly staff - and the more often I go, and practice my French, the more I understand and hear that is rude and unecessary. As I adore France (outside the airport) and love Paris I'll continue to fly there but really the airport is an absolute disgrace . |
Just changed planes in CDG this past weekend and it took a full 2 hours to get from domestic to international. Security check points abound, there are no signs and the staff continues to be a problem. It is by far France's greatest national disgrace. I love France and for that reason must continue to use CDG, but I am always looking for alternative routes.
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I agree that it is pretty terrible. Just wait until you have to transfer to the new Terminal 2G--this involves a very long bus ride--longer than the usual long bus rides at CDG!
http://www.easycdg.com/pages/shuttle...2g_cdgpag.html |
This is not CDG-related but I was once almost bumped from an Iberia flight out of Madrid because I was 'late': 2hr45min before the flight. Anyone that had not checked in at exactly 3hrs before the flight was immediately placed on standby. It was in July and all their flights were oversold like crazy.
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When I was leaving Paris last April, I had a terrible fever and was very late getting to the airport (I remember walking to to the taxi stand at Republique in the rain, crying, sure that I would miss my flight)
My flight was scheduled to leave at 11:30 am, and I didn't get to the airport until after 10:30 am. Luck was on my side- first, some of Air Canada's luggage conveyer belts had broke down so most of the passangers on the flight still hadn't been checked in by the time I arrived (safety in numbers, I figured). Second, someone had left a bag unattended, so about 5 minutes after I arrived we all had to evacuate that part of the terminal while they blew up the bag (took forever) Of course our departure time was pushed waaaay back and I was glad in the end that I was late, instead of having to wait around in the airport for 5 or 6 hours. |
My update on my questions above, relating to skipping check-in if you already have a boarding pass:
We caught a taxi from the 14th at 6:40am, and were sitting in the waiting area at our departure Gate at 7:45am. We indeed headed past the long counter lines to the Passport Control, maybe 5 people waiting at each window, then through the security/x-ray within 10 minutes, and on to the Gate. So we not only skipped the check-in lines, we also weren't caught up in the same crowd trying to then get through the security check. Yeah! |
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