CDG Today 10/31

We too experienced some difficulty at CDG just last week. We did add extra time at the airport, four or more hours. What we didn’t expect was the long wait to board a bus to take us to the flight and then the long wait on the bus that was absolutely crammed with people. We flew Air France and were not too pleased with the situation prior to boarding. Just a simple explanation would have helped greatly. And the bus situation was ridiculous. Thankfully we figured out how to open some small windows while mask to mask with way to many people in the small and confined area. Air France can do better I’m certain.

Not CDG, but in mid-October, Lufthansa recommended passengers arrive 4 hours early at the new Berlin airport (BER). The airport attributed delays to staffing shortages. https://www.thelocal.de/20211012/passengers-face-chaos-at-german-airports-during-autumn-holidays/

Lufthansa later walked back that recommendation a bit and switched to a recommendation just to arrive extra early at peak times.

We transferred at CDG two weeks ago and experienced the same exact mess. AND we even had our attestarion form already done. What a mess. AMS is much more organized.

Susan! So sorry you experienced this!

I had the exact opposite scenario last Sunday AM (10/24) although I did get there early. I got to 2E at 6:15 for a 1020 Delta flight. Stood in line for 40 minutes at Delta as the desks there don't open until 7 and I mean 7 and not one minute before (staff with backs turned, no eye contact, lol). Got checked in quickly, headed to outbound immigration with literally no line, then thru to security with very little line (maybe 3 people in front of me) although they were kicking out everyone's bags for further inspection. I was thru to my K gate by 730. The longest line I stood in was about 20 minutes at Exki in the K Gate departure area for their tea with fresh peppermint leaves. Very good to fly on.

I had printed out my attestation form before I left home and had it filled out ahead of time.

Safe flight home and I'll look for you the next time we are in Paris, lol!

Hi,

In light of this unpleasant experience , " C'est fou " " Quelle horreur ! "

Thanks for this information.

Yikes! Sorry you had to go through all this, Susan but thanks very much for the heads up. Does anyone know if one can get an attestation form early? Like the day or week or month before? Does one obtain this attestation form from the airline?
Pam, I am unfamiliar with outbound immigration. Is this new to CDG or have I just never noticed? As I recall, in the past I have gone from check-in to security to the gate.

@Kay, Look at your passport and you will see a stamp with the date, airport, and an arrow pointing to the left indicating exiting Schengen, at least most of the time. I see I am missing one from 2014 leaving Malpensa, so sometimes they forget.

We left CDG last Tuesday and had no issues.

We did arrive 3 hours early but the lines were minimal. Maybe it is due to the day we flew . Our flight was at 1 :20 pm. Hope you all have a safe flight. Wish we were still there!

"Does anyone know if one can get an attestation form early? Like the day or week or month before? Does one obtain this attestation form from the airline?"

Yes, I printed mine at home before I left. Let me see if I can find the link.

editing to add: OK, here is where I got the attestation form for returning to the US. I had also printed out and filled out the form for leaving the US.

https://www.delta.com/us/en/travel-planning-center/know-before-you-go/attestation

"Pam, I am unfamiliar with outbound immigration. Is this new to CDG or have I just never noticed? As I recall, in the past I have gone from check-in to security to the gate."

Yes, as Sam says, they do the left arrow stamp indicating you left the country/Schengen zone. Usually it's a person in a booth right before security. You hand over your passport. They ask no questions, just look at your inbound stamp, they do the outbound stamp and away you go. There were long areas for zig-zag lines thru stanchions but as indicated I walked straight thru to the minder at the head of a line who directed me to a booth.

Is it the same attestation form we were told we had to have coming to france (that no one collected). I have no way to print here, so am hoping so, since I still have that one.

Hi everyone, and thanks, we just landed at SFO. Aside from a 1.5 yr old in our row who alternated between screaming and crying every 5 sec (I kid you not) the Air France flight went smoothly. Dirty Boeing 777-300, guy in seat on previous flight’s Boarding Pass still in the mesh pocket at my seat, but no big deal.

I’ve been to CDC more times than I can count and never had a problem there. Today was unreal. Absolutely insane.

We got an Attestation Form off a counter and filled it out in 5 sec, that wasn’t the issue, the problem was the massive amount of people there to hand their’s in. There was no organization to it, total chaos.

Taxi driver said many terminals at CDG are closed due to lack of flights so they’ve crammed everyone into just a few (idk how many, he didn’t say). I would have thought they’d have figured out an organized, smooth system by now. Ha! But sounds like it’s hit or miss since Pam and ftry had a different experience.

We got there at 6:30 am for a 10:25 flight. Thought 3 hours at that hour on a Sunday morning would be enough time.

This trip is the 1st time we’ve flown Air France. We are not a fan. Old, dirty Boeing going over too. Even the flight attendant I chatted with going over said she really disliked the plane. As did we.
We miss Norwegian Air and flying an Airbus! Those planes are heaven.

Wow, what a change...as you were in the same time frame as I was the week before.

Glad you are home and hope your ears stop ringing from the crying kiddo.

Thanks Pam!

I know Terminal 1 is completely idle, only Terminal 2A, 2B, 2E, and 2F are operating.

Is it the same attestation form we were told we had to have coming to france (that no one collected).

No, that was France's required attestation for entry into France. The one they're talking about in this thread is the U.S.’s required attestation for entry into the United States.

The Delta link that Pam posted above will show you what it is.

You had two events going against you: the time change yesterday certainly had some people too early. Second, Toussaint is a when people travel back to the homestead to put flowers on the graves--and the concurrent fall school vacation. That didn't fill an international terminal but it did take away employees on a 3-day weekend who would have made everything faster and more efficient. Maybe this answers Kerouac2's staffing observation.