I know it is anyone's best guess, but any insights on how long it might take me to get through customs upon arriving from the US at CDG? My flight arrives at about 6 am on Monday morning. I know there are a lot of strike activities going on - will that effect the amount of time to get through customs? I did get a notification from Air France that if I wanted to reschedule my trip (due to the circumstances), I could do so at no charge, but I am going to Paris.
Thanks for responses!
It’s immigration not customs.
Time wise it will all depend how many staff are there at 6am and how many other planes arrive at the same time.
Are you in a hurry?
Thank you for clarifying, Claudia. I always get those confused. Immigration = at my destination and Customs = when I come home. :-) No, not in a hurry. Just trying to let our driver know a good time to pick me up.
Actually, without trying to sound TOO pedantic....Immigration is for the movement of people, customs is for the movement of goods. You'll go thru both on either end. In France the Customs corridor is on the way to the exit of the secure area after baggage claim and is literally a walk thru unless you are who they are looking for (I'm guessing you do not meet their profiles, lol...surely they've got them?). Arriving back home you'll go thru both as well wherever you land first in the US.
Hard to give you a time....last time I arrived in Paris it was later morning and I literally got thru in under 30 minutes from the time I stepped off my plane. Other times it's taken an hour. You will be early but I wonder how may other international flights arrive then.
Will the driver have your flight number and can the company check your arrival time on that morning?
Are you sure you'll need a driver and not just a taxi from the taxi rank near baggage claim exit?
We were just there a month ago and the process is very automated.
-Stand at glass door, passport inserted, photo taken
-Doors open and somebody is there to stamp passport, no questions.
We arrived at 6am so it must be the same flight (AA?)
In the US the signs often take you to 'customs' and so Americans tend to use that term for entry processes.
The last time we came to Paris last fall the lines for immigration spilled into the halls above the immigration hall and the lines with or without EU passports were over 150 each.
From touchdown to boarding the RER, I'd say exactly an hour.
All different experiences! Thanks to all who have responded.
Pam: due to the strikes (that appear to be escalating right now), hard to say what will be going on with Metro and availability of taxis if there are a lot of folks seeking them. I like to 'treat' myself by hiring a driver - removes a lot of stress...except for that one time I flew to Rome and it was the old bait and switch and I had to take a taxi in the end. It all worked out!
I am hoping that some travelers opted the reschedule and the number of folks arriving at CDG will be lower than usual.
FYI: Air France is the airline that offered a change at no cost.
Dennise
Be sure to visit the washroom before you get in line, just in case the line ends up being a long one.
There is no escape once you're in that lineup!
Great reminder, CJ!
Thanks!
Dennise
"Be sure to visit the washroom before you get in line,"
Oh YES! Great advice even if the line looks long. If your flight arrives at 2E then as you enter the Immigration Hall the toilettes are off to the left before you get in line. Last time I went thru there they had that whole area barricaded off so you could not get to the toilettes. There are toilettes just past the Border Control kiosks on your way to baggage claim if you missed the pre-immigration ones.
Understood about your wanting a driver, then. It sounds like you have trouble shooting experience. As you come thru the doors from Customs the drivers are lined up there with signs or iPads with customer names. BTW, there is ALSO a toilette down here, lol. Yes, I know where they all are!
Pam - LOL I love that you know where all the toilets are and thanks for the tip on finding our driver. :-)
Dennise
I fly through CDG quite a few times every year. Fastest I've been out of the airport and into a taxi is 45 minutes. That's with a carryon and hardly any lines at passport control. The longest it's taken me is about 2.5 hours - if lots of flights land at once then you will be standing in line for quite a long time.
A better strategy is to be sure you use the facilities on the plane fairly shortly before landing -- because if you stop to hit the head on the way to immigration, you are at the back of the pack and may have a much longer wait. I usually take stairs rather than escalators down for that reason.
Thanks for all the great info / suggestions!
Dennise
These websites can help you orient yourself. CdG is a widespread maze at the best of times.
Thanks for those links!
Dennise
Well! I hadn't even thought to ask these questions! So thank you Denise for posting this question. So let's see if I have this right. Pam: So upon arrival either at CDG or in the US we proceed 1st to immigration where our passports are scanned. We then collect our bags and proceed to customs, correct?
Steve: does this mean that at immigration we will stand at the glass door, insert our passports and then someone will stamp them?
SJ: excellent advice regarding the washroom! Thank you. Pam: thanks for the directions to the toilets after arrival at 2 E. Any advice for arrival at 2B? Like Denise, I love that you know where all the toilets are! Janet: you make a good point about using the facilities on the plane! And Southam: excellent links for figuring out where whatever is at CDG!
Kay! I have just arrived in Paris and here is the scoop:
Depending on what terminal you arrive in, you need to take the train to the baggage claim terminal - I believe it is K - in order to get to Immigration / Border Control and exit the airport.
Immigration / Border Control - was INSANE. I have never seen so many people but as it turned out, pretty much no line for the US folks coming in. Maybe because we were the first plane from the US to arrive this morning (at 6 am)? You put your passport in the scanner (there are helpers there if needed); then you step in a booth of sorts for a face scan; then you walk to the officer for your stamp.
Thank you Denise! Sounds like you were fortunate to arrive very early. We will be arriving at about 10:30 AM on AA. The CDG map says AA arrivals are in 2B. Do you go through immigration/border control before or after you collect your bags? This may be obvious once I'm there but I learned to try to figure out things in advance especially if I have a train to catch! I wish you a wonderful time in France!
On Saturday morning there was no line at all...it felt wonderful..this means on my next trip it'll take all day!
When we came in last October there was no automatic scanner and the lines spilled into the halls. We had upgraded last minute to Business and when we got there I noticed a 'priority' line in the middle between the EU and non-EU lines and so just walked up there showed my boarding pass and had only one person ahead of me. No one else from our plane seemed aware of this and there was no line there at all -- so if you do fly business usually there is a priority line.
We average about an hour from lining up to the cab line -- but it was once 2 hours and when we have upgraded it can be as little as 20 minutes IF luggage is fast. Luggage is often not very timely; when we breeze through immigration we usually wait half an hour for the luggage.
I am sort of hoping enough people cancel their trip so that we can do a last minute upgrade. We don't have miles enough but pay for upgrades and sometimes they are fairly reasonable -- the cost on the front end of a business ticket is out of our range.
Dennise! Thanks for the update! I'm glad it went well at the end.
@Kay: Yes, you've got it. You will basically follow the herd and generally do what they do. When you get back to the US if you are on a connecting flight you'll hand your checked bag back to an airline employee who is right after customs and who'll put it on a belt and get it to your next flight. In Europe you will not have to stop at Customs unless you are declaring something (you won't be). In the US, the airports I come thru you usually have to stop and are asked a few questions (or in the case of one of the guys in the Seattle Border and Customs area - a bunch of questions - Why are you traveling alone? ...and don't get me started, lol!)
