Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport — Attraction in Sarcelles

I'm not in the habit of taking time out to write negative reviews but felt compelled to write up my experience departing Charles de Gaulle.

The reason for my one star review was the carnage we witnessed at the passport control gate before entering the departure lounge (we were flying from terminal 2B).

I have flown from airports all over Europe and North America and have never seen anything like this.

Thankfully we chose to head through well in advance of our flight, as there were people round about us who likely will have missed their flights due to getting caught up in the mess.

There were ostensibly 3 queues, an automated passport check, a fast track queue and a non-EU passport and family queue which we were in. Additionally there was a fourth stream for passengers requiring assistance.

Things clearly weren't going well at the front of the queue as progress was slow to the extent that people were panicking about missing flights, and in some cases were asking other customers if they could move up the queue to avoid missing their flights (apparently staff had not been interested when approached and had suggested they ask the other passengers in the queue)

As we got nearer the front of the queue we noticed that there were 2 border police servicing the fast track queue, 1 servicing the additional assistance queue and one servicing the queue we were in, which was by far the biggest, given that all of the flights apparently going from 2B were going to non-EU destinations.

Exacerbating this was the behaviour of the airport staff who were the least professional group of people I have ever witnessed gathered in one place:

people were getting on edge due to the wait (there is no warning that you about to enter a giant queue that may delay you at any point in the airport) eventually an individual tried to skip the fast track queue which led to a shouting match with other members of that queue. rather than removing the offending individual from the queue, the member of staff ostensibly monitoring the fast track queue moved him to the front of our queue apparently just to stop the fast track queue kicking off. this caused the staff member monitoring our queue to lose it, and he started berating the other member of staff. 2 other members of staff appeared (including one who may have been a supervisor) and a larger scale "conversation" broke out between all four of them at this point several people round about us who were on a specific flight (to Newcastle) were beginning to really panic about missing their flight, when another member of staff appeared waving a hand written sign with their flight number, which caused a stampede of these passengers. The supervisor apparently hadn't been told as she actually asked a customer "where are you going?" As she tried to get out the queue. the Newcastle passengers were then moved to the front of the fast track queue (which also wasn't popular)

We made it with plenty of time for our flight, but some others apparently weren't as lucky - on the final call for one of the flights the airline staff rhymed off about 8 names; I would imagine all of them were stuck in the...

Without question, CDG is one of the world's airport icons. This review is for those traveling out of France, through terminal 2. You will find the airport boasts internationally recognized boutiques and an abundance of restaurants to fuel your journey ahead. Yet for the uninitiated CDG 2 is a booby trap for those who like to rush. While our North American airline hubs are generally known for their rough efficiency trafficking passengers from the sidewalk to the gate. This is not the case at CDG. We encountered lines helmed by smiling and courteous staff at every stage prior to and including boarding. The airport's staff are not a factor in this review. Rather I believe schedule density, coupled with the French border authority and airport's reliance on outdated technology is to blame. Deltas CDG check in went as well as it could given the number and size of the aircraft paired with the available kiosks. Passport control was a disaster. Terminal 2 is massive spanning hundreds of acres and multiple buildings. Yet there is only one passport pinch point serving all of these buildings and gates. Despite repeated public address apologies we waited in line for nearly an hour while French staff heroically tried to get biometric gates to perform to a minimum of.expectarions. We boarded our tram which glided us effortlessly to our 2E terminal where we encountered our second delay, security screening. The airport opened a third of the lanes. Those of us accustomed to the TSA precheck security dance will find the stringent European rules a momentary personal annoyance and huge time suck. Simple changes such as automated belts and tray returns would do wonders. Privacy zealots might find a suggestion that Europe and the USA blend their trusted traveler programs objectionable. Grin and bare it. You'll soon be released into your terminal full of leading French brands and your last mouthfuls of quality coffee and croissants. The last and final CDG surprise is waiting at your gate. Despite signage, this airport dispenses with the American carrier's branded boarding procedure. We found Delta's seven zones collapsed into two. At this airport you're either premium or main cabin. The European propensity to form a line tipped us off. We were on our way to a proper boarding when we were pulled aside for a random security screening. I've never understood why US DHS/TSA trusted travelers with global entry credentials are subjected to this at home or abroad. I try to be mindful that the staff processing my travel and conducting the searches have nothing to do with these decisions. The bottom line, despite arriving at the airport 3 hours before our scheduled departure, we had 30 minutes left for a cup of coffee and a small bite to eat before we were required to board. If I operated one of the restaurants or boutiques in this airport I would be screaming for change. I'll offer this word of warning. As we journeyed we heard many of our fellow North Americans pleading with French officials to let them advance as they had only left an hour or two to get from curbside to their gate. Enjoy your...

do not use this airport if you are an anxious flyer!!

we had the most horrific experience of our lives in this airport and if you are worried about flying - this airport is not for you. we had a private transfer from our hotel to the airport, meaning we arrived at the airport at 4pm (private transfers get you to the airport at the correct time for check in) the airport refused to allow us to check in until after 5pm with absolutely no explanation. we tried to explain we had a flight to catch and with how long the check in queue is- we were going to be late. and that we still have security to go through after this, however we were told ‘that’s what my boss says’. with 3 anxious flyers in my group we could have done with even a simple explanation but being told we can’t check in for a further hour with no reasons was not a nice experience. when we were finally ‘allowed’ to joined the queue, i had never seen anything like it. i couldn’t even count on both of my hands how many people were crying in the queue due to stress of missing their flight/length of the queue/rudeness of airport staff. there was at least 10 people in the queue for CHECK IN at 5.25pm who had a flight leaving at 6.30!!! they were told to continue waiting in the queue as they had ‘plenty’ time. due to being polite, we let people in front of us so that they wouldn’t miss their flight. the airport staff should be more concerned about other customers missing their flight than US!! by the time we had got through the queue and into security, we only had 30 minutes till boarding. this meant 30 minutes to go through security, have a toilet stop, get a juice and a snack and board !! upon entering security and placing all our belongings in the boxes and liquids in bags, one member of staff had called me back to my box. i went back to be greeted by silence. obviously i walk away to get metal detected etc and i get called back again? at this point i was angry that the airport were making us late to our flight and this specific security member was purposefully trying to make us even later! so i asked ‘what is wrong with my box?’ to which i was again greeted with COMPLETE silence and she put my box through extra security to be swabbed and every single item of mine was searched through. i know this was due to the rude security lady and all she wanted to do was make us late. this airport did not care if you felt comfortable, knew where you were going or even missed your flight!! one of our group was in tears by the time we were waiting at the gate, no one should ever be made to feel this horrendous in one of the most anxiety inducing places. i am extremely extremely disappointed and don’t even believe we were treated as humans to be completely honest. i will specifically never use this airport again due to this one experience and i would urge anyone who wants to actually get on their flight/have a relaxing experience to stay away from...