My wife Kathy and I will be flying into Terminal 2 on Delta on June 28th.
We flew into Paris at Terminal 2 last year and just followed the crowd. Well the crowd did not go to customs. So we wandered around a while before finding customs.
Are there signs that indicate customs? We do not read French very well and we do not speak French at all.
You literally cannot get off the plane without going through immigration before picking up luggage and then walking out the door. Walking out the door is 'customs'. The only way you could screw this up is if you followed the signs for correspondence/transfer and not the exit signs.
First off, you are going to immigration or commonly called, Passport Control. It is hard to miss that line since everyone has to go through it. Now if you are catching a connecting flight in Paris you will not go through customs till your final destination. Generally the signage is pretty good and in English in addition to French. And if Paris is your final destination, customs is after immigration and luggage claim. It is generally the green door that says, "Nothing to Declare." Easy to walk through and not notice it.
PS ---- Where did the crowd go??????
Follow the signs to passport control. Next, go to your luggage carousel. Finally, once you have your luggage, find the exit, sortie in French, and go out the door. Customs is right before the exit door, but you’ll have nothing to declare, so just keep going. Correspondence means transfer in English; don’t follow that.
Good to know. My husband and I will be doing a similar trip through CDG in August. We're also flying Delta so I assume we'll go through the same terminal. We are planning to fly with only carry-on luggage so that should eliminate one point of confusion.
There is no 'Terminal 2' in CDG, they're all sub terminals - 2A through 2F; T2E (Air France) is further split to sub terminals K, L, M. The distinction can be important (esp on return to the US), the process is generally the same as I think all of T2 has E gates.
When you get to passport control, you'll be split into groups based on the passport you hold - EU, American, etc. And you'll stand in line, go through the E Gates (stand on the feet, put your passport in the slot correctly, take a photo, there are people to help you). Then get a CDG Roissy stamp and go.
Hint - there are usually bathrooms between the plane and passport control. Use them.
Upon arrival at CDG follow the signs for arrivals, exit, or baggage claim if applicable (ignore signage for transfers). This will automatically take you to passport control. After passport control continue following the signage mentioned above. This will guide you toward the baggage area and eventually you’ll also see signage for customs or declarations, arrivals (hall) and exits. If you have nothing to declare then simple follow the signage into the arrivals hall or exits. At this point directions for transportation options are available.
There is indeed, as you’ve experienced, a continuous flow of passengers through CDG with many of them making flight connections.
I can see where it might have been confusing as there has been a lot of construction at CDG the past couple of years with signage not being as obvious as it should be. And, your route out would be a bit different based on where you landed (2E K,L, or M)
The past few times we've gone through CDG (Nov 23, Jan 24, Mar 24 and Apr 24) everything seems to be much clearer (in my opinion) and, as others have said, just follow signs to the Exit (Sortie in French). And if you have any hesitation, ask one of the nice folks standing around. They all speak English and are there to help direct you.
