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Paris, CDG Airport - 1hr Cconnecting flight?!

(...The only thing that I ask in your answer is that you please don't make me more anxious than I am - nothing is impossible!)

But with that said...
I am fully aware that a 1 hour connecting flight is extremely tight! I'll be flying from Los Angeles to Paris to Istanbul.
I bought my ticket through an online site - so not directly through the airlines, but I'll be flying with Air France both from the US to Paris and from Paris to Istanbul!
Our flight lands in Terminal 2E and departs from Terminal B (It says "Terminal B", but I'm assuming it's synonymous to "2B".)
I hear the time of day matters? We arrive at 11:35am and depart to Istanbul at 12:35pm.

I need prayers, advice, and maaaybe a step-by-step guide so I don't miss this flight and pay for an entirely new ticket.
Again - I'll be anxious as hell for a month, so please be kind (but real) with your answers.

Posted by
8293 posts

First, are both flights with Air France? If they are not and you have to disembark, go through Immigration and Passport Control, and get to and check in for your second flight at 2B, then you will need more than "prayers, advice and a step-by-step guide". You will need a miracle and they are in short supply at CDG. Go to easycgd.com for an airport map. Maybe someone else will be more positive but you have put yourself in a bit of a mess and not wanting to hear anyone say that won't make it go away. P.S. Will you have checked luggage?

Posted by
8889 posts

If you booked both the flights at the same time as one booking you should be OK (both Air France or code share).
Your luggage will be booked through to Istanbul, you will not have to go through customs or immigration, you will stay "Airside". Just don't dawdle. And, if you miss your second flight because the first one was late, Air France then has to put you on the next flight.

But, did you did this as two separate bookings, Sacrebleu! As the previous poster said, you will then have to pick up your bags, go through customs and immigration and re-cherck in for your Istanbul flight. Depending on airline, the minimum check-in time for the 2nd flight may be 1 hour!

Posted by
3 posts

I'll be flying with Air France both from the US to Paris and from Paris to Istanbul, but I'm still afraid 1hr is a tight window.

Thank you for the half-cynical replies!

Posted by
8293 posts

As both your flights are Air France you will be put on a later flight if you miss the 12:35. If that eases your anxiety. To make your connection your arrival at CDG must not be late, you must exit the plane toute suite and you must get to 2B quick as a flash. Good luck.

Posted by
3387 posts

As long as your plane is on time then you should be fine since you are flying through on Air France all the way. If your flight is late, they will book you on the next available flight with your luggage waiting for you at the Istanbul end. With luck it will all be OK! Worrying won't change the outcome so just relax and go with the flow!

Posted by
5835 posts

Chris F notes: you will not have to go through customs or immigration, you will stay "Airside".
I was under the impression that travelers arriving at a Schengen country (e.g. France) from a Non-schengen country (e.g. USA) would need to go through passport control. That's usually the case at AMS and FRA.

For some reason, on a flight 3 years ago from PRG to OSL connecting via CDG (all Schengen countries), we landed at a remote CDG location (not terminal) and got bussed to a building with both a passport check followed by a security screening including carry-on baggage, then bussed again to the main terminal for the CDG-OSL flight. I thought that the Norway was a Schengen country. [SEE CORRECTION BELOW]

As others have noted, since you are booked all the way on Air France getting you and your baggage to Istanbul is Air France's problem. It's a good idea to know the flight numbers and times of later CDG to Istanbul flights just in case.

Ironically, carry-on bags cost you more connecting time than checked bags in that airports may have internal screening points getting from one terminal area to another. Make sure your carry-bags have a minimal number of suspect items. My bag has been reinspected because extra battaries, computer wires, and cylindrical cans of sports drink powder can look like something dangerous. If your checked bags don't make the connection, the good news is that Air France will deliver missed bags to your hotel and you don't need to carry them.

Try to get a seat as far forward (close to the exit) as possible or affordable so that you don't get blocked in by all the cheap seats folks struggling to pull carry-on bags from the overhead and clogging up the exit aisle.

And think positive and remember to breath.

Posted by
8889 posts

Edgar,
If you are arriving in one Schengen country, travelling on to another Schengen country, then you DO go through passport control at the first airport. This is because the flight between the two Schengen countries does not have any passport control when it lands, you enter "Schengen-Land" at the first airport.
Norway IS a Schengen country, so the flight Paris --> Oslo is a Schengen-internal flight. and you entered the Schengen Area in Paris.

But, this is not the case here. The poster is travelling Los Angeles --> Paris --> Istanbul. Turkey is not in the EU or Schengen, they are both 100% international flights. You do not have the enter the Schengen area, and can stay airside.

Posted by
5835 posts

Chris: Thanks for the clarification. Turkey not Schengen.

Comethru: You may want to recheck Istanbul being a terminal 2B departure. Air France's web indicates that Istanbul is a Terminal 2E opearation. http://www.airfrance.us/US/en/common/guidevoyageur/aeroport/circuit_correspondance_cdg.htm

If you arrive 2E and depart 2E, then Chris is correct that you should not need to go through passport control, but if the "green check mark" applies, you may need to go through a security check point:
http://www.easycdg.com/1/informations-passagers/connecting-flight-connections-guide-paris-cdg-airport/connection-terminal-2e-paris-cdg-charlesdegaulle-airport/
and a Terminal 2E transfer is only a 15 to 30 minute walk, presumably at a European walking pace.

Security check All passengers transferring from non-Schengen countries
have to go through the security control. To ensure a smooth security
control, please pack all liquids and sharp items into your baggage
going into the hold. You may carry through security control only few
liquids in containers smaller than 100 ml.

Posted by
2709 posts

Not to be a curmudgeon, but on Edgar's PRG->Oslo via CDG, he would already have been admitted to the Schengen area when he arrived in Prague (from let's assume the US). Why was there passport control? I can understand a security rescreening if they could not figure out that they were entering the terminal directly from a secured bus.

Posted by
5835 posts

Sorry, my error re passport control for Prague to Oslo via CDG. Larry's note led me to rechecking. The passport control check at CDG was on my return leg Oslo via CDG back to the States, not the middle leg Prague to Oslo. Blame it on the fog of time (three years ago) and age.

My return leg from Oslo was a Delta operated by Regional Compagnie Aerienne Europeene to CDG. The flight terminated somewhere out on the airport tarmac/apron where we had to wait for a boarding stairs and shuttle bus. The shuttle bus drove us to a satellite building out in the middle of nowhere (not a terminal building). At the satellite we went through passport control, then a security check, then waited for a new shuttle bus to take us to the main terminal for our departing flight back to the US. This passport control was approprite in the we were leaving the Zone.

Posted by
2709 posts

Indeed, Edgar. I had checked my (scant, compared to most of you) passport stampings, and noted that there is always an exit stamp upon leaving Schengen. Presumably documents the 90/180.

Posted by
3 posts

@Edgar
Thank you so much for sending me this website. A great tool for me to use.

You're actually right - I do depart from Terminal 2E (I just checked with my booking reference code).
So I guess I shouldn't be worried?

Thank you all for your replies. I appreciate it greatly.

Posted by
11294 posts

One true story to reassure you:

In 2010 I had a connection at CDG from 2F to 2E; it was from a non-Schengen to a Schengen destination, so I had to go through passport control on arrival, then security in the new terminal. I had allowed a 3 hour connection, but my flight was delayed in departure from JFK over 2 hours. I was sweating bullets the whole way over and on arrival. At the security checkpoint there was almost no line, and the screener noted that I had been running and was tense. She said I had plenty of time to relax, get a coffee, and meet a girl. Yes, she actually said that. France is still France, after all, and apparently there's always time for romance. Now, I would have been more interested in meeting a boy, but her comments definitely made me feel better.

However, there are of course no guarantees. While my story had a happy ending, I've read plenty of others that didn't. Good luck!

Posted by
1060 posts

Hopefully the connection works out ok. For others that read this thread, I suggest buying tickets from the airline directly if possible instead of an online site as the OP did. Sometimes this isn't possible, for example the best prices or times found by the search engines are on multiple carriers. But I have read stories where issues come up and the response from the airline is "we didn't sell you the ticket, call the people that did".

I doubt the OP will have a problem like this since Air France is handling both flights. However as a precaution I would suggest making sure you have the phone numbers to call your online seller help desk from overseas.

Incidentally some airports have information about on-time performance of arriving & departing flights. LAX does (OP, don't click on the link) at http://www.airport-la.com/lax/flight?flight_departure=AF65

Posted by
141 posts

I bought directly from Air France, and they also gave me a one hour connection time in Paris (but I'm heading on to Nice, so not sure if I will be in a different terminal from you). I can't answer your question, but I can share my tips for keeping a positive start to the trip even if things don't go as planned...

It helped my peace of mind immensely to look up the later connecting flights, so I would know my options in case the first flight is late. Also, don't plan anything your first day in Istanbul so if anything does happen you don't feel like you missed something. And then if you get there on time, it feels like bonus time!

Bon voyage!