People have mixed opinions on Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). While I know many people aren’t a fan of the airport, as an aviation geek, I’m sort of a fan. However, there’s one thing I’ve never been able to make sense of, though fortunately that will be changing.
Continue reading: Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport Updating Nonsensical Terminal Naming
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I bet it's KLM because of the Netherland's flag carrier - KLM Royal Dutch Airlines - being a part of the Air France-KLM Group. Keyword is France!
Doesnt make sense at all to me.
I'm very use to the old terminal/ naming.
Current terminal 2 halls k-l-m dont have a separate check in area. you check in in terminal 2E.
Similar to current terminal 2G. No separate check in area. You check in in terminal 2.
With the new designations will they be opening new check in areas for the new terminals 5 and 7? I doubt it. So where will you check in if you are leaving from those terminals?
This is confusing now.
Terminal 4 was the expansion project that was abandoned. Maybe they want to skip that...
Terminal 2E becoming Terminal 5 and 2F becoming only part of Terminal 3 will still be confusing for AF passengers though...
Terminal 2 becomes terminal 3
Terminal 3 becomes terminal 2
I mean, honestly...
Terminal 2G, soon Terminal 7, should just be renamed Terminal You’re Gonna Miss Your Connection
Meanwhile, JFK has active terminals 1, 4, 5, 7, and 8, yet, it's getting a new T1, and T5/6/7 is gonna be a thing. At the end of all these projects (likely 2030), there's basically gonna be 4 terminals in-total. Current T4 would be the second one, T5/6/7 would be the third, and T8 the fourth. *sigh*
This was such an interesting read! I’ve always found CDG confusing, especially with the endless mix of terminals, sub-terminals, and hall letters. Terminal 2 alone feels like a mini city! The part about Terminal 2E having separate K, L, and M halls really hit home — I’ve definitely walked more than I expected there.
It’s great to hear CDG is finally moving toward a more logical naming system. For such a major international hub, clarity is long overdue. Hopefully the new structure makes travel smoother for everyone, whether you're an aviation geek or just trying to catch a flight without getting lost!
The real question for Air France is why do they seemingly always 'board' on-time, only to have passengers wait in the jet bridge for awhile. I can't be the only one who's experienced this.
The real question for Air France is why do they seemingly always 'board' on-time, only to have passengers wait in the jet bridge for awhile. I can't be the only one who's experienced this.
Ben wrote that he didn't know how it came about. It came about in the 1980's when Terminal 1 was found to be not a great design. Originally, there were plans to have multiple terminals like Terminal 1. Instead, Terminal 2A and 2B were built. After that the 2C, 2C, etc. scheme was perpetuated.
The renaming of T3 to T2 is bad. They should just start with T4 or, if they have bad memories of the planned T4, start with T5. So 2A becomes T5, etc.
just means that alot of AF/DL connections will now involve connecting "between terminals" which might create some angst in some people's minds even if the distance and time to connect doesn't really change.
Many airlines do the same. However it’s likely because the crew sent a message just after to wait.
It’s exactly the same just different numbers.
LAX will do the same :
T1. T2-3 becomes T2. The Tom Bradley international terminal t3 t4-5 =t4 t6 t7-8 =t7.
This entire blog entry and comments (not the commenters' fault) have given me a headache.
Or a sun-sized tumor.
tl;dr - FU, CDG.
It looks like the post has been updated. It initially said that T2 A-F would be 2, and that T2 halls k-M would be 5, which would have made no sense. this update has it making a bit more sense i guess.
Maybe they'll start selling Laduree macarons with the new terminal numbers on them so that you know where you are.
Ok this has always bugged me: CDG is the only airport I’ve been to where the signage indicates something is ahead of you by an arrow pointing DOWN (and it’s behind you if it’s pointing up). Is this common standard in France or other parts of the world? It seems like a poor choice for an airport that serves passengers from around the globe.
I would just be happy if someone could explain to me how Terminal 1 is organized in an intuitive way. I really feel like a hamster in a maze there, which is probably related to the transparent tubes, maybe on purpose. And somehow, if you take the wrong elevator without looking you may end up in totally different part of France. Also I have a suspicion that the immigration/border line minders just randomly switch the signs between lines at their whim, then leave for a smoke break to come back and yell at people for fun.
I've taken a bus to 2A and thought it would be a quick walk to 2EM... Glad that's finally changing.
It won’t make any difference. The actual buildings and locations are identical.
Hm, people are complaining about FRA as well, that it’s “not intuitive”.
Well, I don’t need an airport to be intuitive (which means different things to different people anyway), I need it to be well signposted.
When I arrive in CDG as a transit passenger, I figure which gate I need for my connection and then follow the signs for the correct Terminal or Hall. I couldn’t care less if it’s called Terminal 2E Hall K or Terminal 5 as long as there are signs showing me the best way there.
This is also the trick how to survive FRA and many other airports and it works accordingly when you depart from that airport. Do you think the check-in area or Terminal 2E will be easier to find, just because it’s called Terminal 5 now?
Most people don’t have an aerial view of CDG in their minds and find it logical that Terminal 2F is now called Terminal 6. They arrive by RER or SNCF and then follow the signs, or leave the magic to be dropped off in front of the correct building to a taxi or Uber Driver….
What’s in a name in the end…?
multiple people including me understand that nothing physically is changing.
People's perceptions of what they have to do to connect will change based on how terminals and concourses are labeled.
FRA T1 is super easy, one central check in area, then security and you're home free. Only thing is some gates are quite a trek, but it's easy to navigate I would say.
Will CDG be the only European — or, indeed, non-US — airport to have a terminal number greater than 5? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve seen terminal numbers 6 and above only at US airports like LAX and JFK.
He knows that. What he is saying is that he will no longer think that 2A is walkable to 2E, that's all.
Even within Terminal 1 there can be tricky combinations, e.g. with the B Gates, Schengen or non-Schengen, which involve using the infamous tunnel.
Also the C Gates are sometimes difficult and not even connected airside to the rest.
I share your opinion and find it relatively easy, but I grew up with FRA since I have lived in HAM and BER most of my life, which means if you want to reach your destination, chances are, you need to travel via MUC or FRA (or some other hub).
However, the internet is full of people (often Americans) complaining about FRA and what a “maze” it is.
Quote.
take the wrong elevator without looking
Unquote.
My recommendation for T1 is: find your gate number and then please LOOK for the sign and get on the right elevator.
This should get you from check-in to your gate area within approximately 5 minutes.
Any airport design that incorporates this sort of thing is beyond hopeless, and renaming the terminals is just lipstick on a pig:
https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/en/work/charles-de-gaulle
I agree, for whatever reason they've reversed the common understanding that to proceed forward is indicated by the arrow pointing up... I've seen this elsewhere too. Maybe somehow they feel that the tip of the arrow shows more closely where you're supposed to walk towards?
Following the signs to your next flight is not always the best idea.
In the US, after international arrival it is often faster to go back through security at the international terminal and then connect airside if airside connection exists, instead of following the signs to your next terminal landside. LAX and SFO are good examples.
In other places, the opposite approach is better. Made a mistake of following signs for international connections at HND T3, after domestic JAL flight arrived at T1. Ended up at the airside shuttle bus stop, with departures every 12-15 minutes. Waited 10 minutes, a full bus pulled up, airport employee standing there, waving her hands and saying "so sorry, bus is full". Got on the next bus 15 minutes later, but there were a lot of people behind me in the line that didn't make it on this 2nd bus. So for me it was a 25 minute wait, while for some of them it was closer to 35 minutes. Better approach is to go landside and catch a shuttle bus there that comes every 4 minutes. Especially since the airside shuttle drops you off landside in T3 anyway.
And if you are connecting in FRA and have access to the FCT, there are no signs inside the main terminal that would get you there - they direct you to the lounge inside the main terminal, which is not nearly as much fun as the FCT.
CDG 2E and F are fine as are the others and providing you’re not transferring between the others incl 2E/F.
It’s unfortunate some SkyTeam partners are not in 2E/F.
Aeromexico and Kenya - 2C and
worse , Saudi is in terminal 1.
2E, 2F and 2G all already have their own respective check-in areas. And they will be renamed into three separate terminals (5, 6 and 7). From that standpoint, it’s quite logical.
Don’t celebrate too much yet. According to Le Parisien the gates will be referred to as follows
Lettres des futures salles d'embarquement par terminal :
T1: S et R; T2: V: T3: F; T4: G et H: T5: B, C et D: T6:E: T7 : N.
So what is today 2E K,L,M will become 5 B,C,D. Terminal 2 will have V gates. Terminal 7, N gates… etc. Plenty of scope there for confusion.
Makes my head spin.
I was at CDG a month ago. We stayed at airport Hilton, a ten minute walk to terminal doors. It took us 2 hours to get to our gate. Won't go there again. Biz class AF list my dinner rez, didn't have any additional in board and then skipped me when desert rolled around. I had a long talk with the purser saying I just expected more.
CDG is truly gorgeous. Really haute culture, many great shops. Duty free shops are to die for. My favorite facility there is a smoking area that goes great with an awesome macchiato. French culture and dynamics are truly outstanding.
L'aéroport Charles de Gaulle est vraiment magnifique. Un lieu d'une grande élégance, avec de nombreuses boutiques exceptionnelles. Les boutiques hors taxes sont incroyables. Mon endroit préféré est l'espace fumeurs, idéal pour déguster un excellent macchiato. La culture et l'ambiance françaises y sont tout simplement remarquables.
I just flew out of CDG (2E) on Air France in business class on an A359 (CDG-PHX) and it was a very nice, although too long for me, flight.
We had flown out of CDG years ago and decided to splurge a bit this time since we were at the end of a 17 night trip and were tired and didn't want to deal with any stress at CDG. I found a "VIP" service that was about 40% cheaper than Air France's offering.
The lady met us at our hotel lobby (Holiday Inn Express on the CDGVAL shuttle) at 7AM and we had checked bags and were through security, etc. and even finished shopping at duty free (wife wanted some food items for friends) by 810AM and then in the lounge.
She got us ahead of lines and we waited in almost no lines except there was a short wait at checkin for a person because we couldn't print our boarding passes (1D/H) due to an entertainment system not functioning (moved back to row 8D/H).
Cost a few dollars and I'm not the one to splurge on things but for anyone who has issues with airports or have family going through and don't know what they are doing, it could be worth paying up for it.
I had to think about that. In the US, it appears thru lanes get a down arrow and exit lanes get an up arrow. I don’t really understand the logic, but I concede I’d never noticed the inconsistency until now.
You do realize that he just posted the exact same message in English, and replied to it in French…. In an article about a French airport…
The flight crew clearly had to make a call about excess weight onboard as it is usually the case with US-bound passengers. Good thing they skipped your dessert, Tom.
I always try to avoid connecting through that terminal. But, I've never had a problem.
My only (and annual) connections at CDG is Sehegen/non-Shegen or vis versa. I've never had a bit of trouble. They have excellent signage. And, I always know if my Shengen departure or arrival in 2F or 2G, which helps remove uncertainty. But, I've never had a problem determining the correct path and never had any problems making the connection. Some luck, but also review the transfer online. I forget the very nice website, but I'll try to post it later.
Signage can be done overnight. Normal way to do this is to instal the new signage, place temporary stickers with old terminal names over it and then just remove the stickers between the last flight of the day and the first flight of the next.
As for different terminals sharing check-in halls, AF always publishes terminal number of where check-in takes place, even if the actual gate is elsewhere. Once checked in you simply follow signs for your gate.
I'm not a fan of this change. While the current setup is suboptimal, this goes too far. For example 2E and 2F should not be labeled as different terminals.
What is the based company in CDG? AF-KLM so you have your explanation for the three hall in CDG 2E. it was a thanks to the national company to use CDG as the main hub. The second hub is Amsterdam where KLM planes are based.
A ten minute walk to terminal doors? To which terminal doors?
AF uses current Terminal 2F and 2E and nobody in their right minds would consider walking there from the Hilton. I am not surprised, you needed two hours to find your gate. If you approach your meal reservations with a comparable diligence, no wonder these are doomed for failure.
The Hilton is at ten minutes walk from Terminal 3 who's not a terminal for plane. Just a suburban train station. After you have to take the automatic metro to join Terminal 2 and walk to terminal 2E. After depending where you are taking off you have to take another metro if you leave from T2E-M.
“Speak ENGLISH please!” …. was a post below SHOUTED by an ignoramus.
A pathetic request from someone who is incapable of speaking or understanding the King’s English, yes? Far too many who post herein, cannot put more than two English words together which makes any sense. Are the TikTok and fake English chat AI bots responsible for falling standards, alternatively, could it simply be a complete lack of formal education in some countries?
It’s not complicated. You just have to use French logic and it will all make sense to you. The French find airports around the world to be confusing. Why would you number the terminals when you could be calling them 1, Q, 17, Baguette, 3L-7 they ask…
I wish Tokyo Haneda would do the same. Unfortunately they renamed the former international terminal as terminal 3 a few years ago, and now I constantly forget which train stop to get off at. They probably did it because the rigid japanese mentality couldn't handle the possibility of some domestic flights out of the International terminal, or vice versa.
A name is a name, period. As long as the signs are consistent and easy to follow, I really don't care what it's called.
Humans get used to something and it's more confusing to change at some point. Take for example numbers in French like 80 and 90.instead of a word for 80 it's 4x20 and ninety is 4x20+10. Meanwhile other French speaking countries did away with that and created the word 80 and 90.if you're learning French that seems better and logical. If you were native France French you probably wouldn't want that.
I was very much confused by cdg naming when I first went there. Then I got used to it. I'm sure initially these new terminal numbers will confuse me when I tell myself I should go to the lounge in 2E instead of 2M at this hour because it's quieter for napping etc.
Honestly, I never was confused by the naming system in CDG. No idea why they would have to rename it - signage was clear as well.
80 is still 4x20 in every French speaking country except parts of Switzerland.
SAS is also in 2B/D, which is scandalous considering they were literally acquired by AF-KLM and are extensively codesharing through CDG.
You flying Business or La Premiere? You've been talking a big game, lately.
(Oh, I remember, you don't read my stuff. Guess this'll go un-answered. Boohoo.)
Polly parrot mimics the organ grinders monkey in a most pathetic fashion. One has to wonder if polly likes nibbling upon the monkey nuts too?
I suggest CDG add more halls , with different letters , each with similar colours .
For example : Hall "Z" would have a colour of blue + pink ; whilst Hall X would have a colour of pink + light purple ; whilst Hall Y would have a colour darker purple and pink stripes .
In addition , lines of those colours could be painted through the terminals , with alcohol rest stops where the lines cross each other .
Changing signs your way will result in workers getting glue onover the signs , no ?
Also , some of the glue will not adhere , and the old signs will fall down before the changeover .
Flew into CDG a year ago. Signs were not intuitive and finding baggage was interesting as it involved a shuttle ride which is not unusual but the signs leading to the shuttle were like something out of a 1960s The Prisoner episode or a bad dream. My wife's first language is French so it was not a language issue. Fortunately a very nice airport employee gave us directions. Changing the signs and renaming the Terminals is like putting up five fingers and asking how many fingers do you see then mixing it up by shaking your hand and putting five fingers up. Still five fingers no matter what you call them. Locals and taxi/uber drivers will be frustrated as it likely will become more complex for them for a while. Guide books will have to be rewritten.
"The Hilton is at ten minutes walk from Terminal 3 who's not a terminal for plane. Just a suburban train station"
Huh, what? CDG Terminal 3 is for trains, not plains??
Honestly just name the terminals after the many winemaking regions of France. I'd love to be stumbling around terminal Bordeaux looking for my gate 🙂
We visited CDG this year. Oh my, we were shocked how awful it is. The terminal was dark and smelly and just having no energy.
We could not believe this is a world class airport.
Like many hotels in France, they just let them go. Is that "C'est la vie"
The Marriott CDG hotel, we received bites in our room and we were on the renovated floor. I had to go to an unrenovated floor, as I walked out of the elevator, I was hit with a smog of bad smell, the rug way beyond its days, in fact I would consider a danger area for health and close that floor.
Not sure whats going on in France. They have a very big budget deficit, maybe they are letting things go down.
This is the standard everywhere in France. It should not be assumed that symbols from Anglo-Saxon world be interpreted uniformly across the globe