Enhanced Security at CDG?

I don’t know what is going on but hubby forgot to take his 311 out. It only had a 1 ounce bottle of eye drops, and had his bag searched. It took the inspector 25 minutes to search it. A tiny carryon and backpack. He moved at a snails pace while carrying on a conversation with his buddy. He was checking a guy ahead of us so we were waiting for that person to leave. So what does the inspector do, he moves to the side and continues talking to his buddy for 5 more minutes. It was a nightmare.

I do not know if there is enhanced security but last year, or maybe it was earlier this year, American Airlines was telling people to arrive four hours before scheduled departure for flights to the US. My thoughts are that this a long lead time but if the airline says you need it, I'd hate to show up with less lead time and miss the flight so I'd do it but I arrive super early at airports anyway. Three hours is the usual lead time at CDG. My brother almost missed a flight from CDG in 2013 when he showed up around 2 hours and 45 minutes before his flight.

In September 2018 it took me over 2.5 hrs just to clear exit border control/immigration. Just 2 windows open and they were moving intentionally slow....spending a long time talking to each other and ignoring passengers. I arrived well over 4 hrs early and had maybe 45 min to spare.

Your life, your risk, your money! Odds are you will clear immigration/security and have loads of free time at the gate just sitting and sitting....but if not.....

Travel safe

Well, it’s one of those days🙃. We got to the airport a full four hours ahead of departure. It took less than five minutes to get bags checked and processed. Another ten minutes to walk to passport control. Another ten minutes for security. All in all, whipped through security and at gate area about three hours prior to departure. Works for me—it’s easier to wait at the gate than to rush through at the last moment and get stressed; although, three hours is a bit much.

Having said that, an American couple in front of us had some difficulties—unsurprisingly. The wife demonstrated an attitude before getting to the passport control and wanted to be with her husband. The officer told her one person at a time. She pouted. In the security line she was somewhat pushy and paid the price. She was searched and her bags pulled aside for increased review. She was not a happy camper.

Learning lesson: a “bonjour monsieur/madame” and a kind smile goes a long way. And, always remember, he who makes the rules, has the power.

It is so unpredictable and there have been work slowdowns so I'd listen to what the airline is telling you. AA is also in our experience inefficient; years ago AA took a line of about a 100 people and put it in front of our line that had already been waiting an hour -- making it very tight for many of us to make our plane. Customer service and giving a rats patoot are not characteristics of French service and they are amplified at CDG where I believe every negative French stereotype is employed. We have rarely met rude French people in Paris or France at large but always encounter them in CDG employees.

Last trip someone had a difficulty in our emigration line and the person slotting people into lines would not let us move to a different line and we stood there for 25 minutes while whatever it was kept our short line from being processed. Another poster talked about a situation where someone collapsed in their line and they were not allowed to shift to another line while that was dealt with.

We have had it take every second of 3 hours to get to the gate and other times have walked through in 20 minutes start to finish and had time to get coffee and read a book. But all the risk is on you so I'd choose cooling my heels in 'duty free' over missing the plane.

Learning lesson: a “bonjour monsieur/madame” and a kind smile goes a long way. And, always remember, he who makes the rules, has the power.

Darrel, I'm glad you had too much time than not enough. My mom taught me basically the same thing, but she phrased it: "Don't argue with the man that's got the gun."

My grandson is a student at Tours University and will be flying home for the holidays. I'll remind him to give himself plenty of time. He speaks fluent French and that has helped with officials in the past.

It is great advice. We have had retaliation when just not being willing to go through the x-ray machine no matter how politely -- security standing around chatting and smirking while we waited 20 minutes for the search. On one occasion our computer disappeared during this as we could not approach the conveyer while waiting. Luckily I had been doing my best to keep an eye on it and suggested we unstack the trays and the computer was 10 down in the stack of 'empty trays' -- but it could easily have been stolen while unsupervised.

But the general be as charming as possible advice works. I have been put in first class to make a speaking engagement when the rest of the plane had to wait till the next day when a plane was canceled and have also been allowed to double book when trying to get back in time to catch another flight during a a weather emergency i.e. they kept me on the evening flight that might get cancelled while also booking me on the morning flight which is hard to pull off. Make your problem their problem rather than complain or insult. ' I need to be there at 8 am to give this speech' is better than shouting and swearing and stomping which I have observed many times in these situations.