Travelling through CDG on to Naples - CDG airport question

I would do what Delta said and wait--regardless, an hour is absolutely too tight and I would change the flight, but not this far in advance.

... is there an immigration or customs process we must go through while deplaning at CDG before boarding our flight to Naples

Assuming your flight originates in the US and lands at CDG, YES, you will go through passport control (immigration) at CDG, before moving on to the next flight. Customs will be a non-events at Naples.

I’ll offer an alternate viewpoint: I would address this with Delta now. It’s possible that you might end up having to change the flight again but so be it. Do a little research and find a new flight you like and call in to Delta with your flight numbers and they should re-book you.

To wait in this busy year means that you might not find seats on some flights. Your trip isn’t actually that far away.

I don’t know what your full itinerary is - Wisconsin to Minneapolis to Paris? Denver? It seems like there is a 9:15 flight to Naples and then not another one until 3:00. So keep in mind that you can even totally re-route yourself - like go to Atlanta and then over to Paris. I do best with these changes when I have a list of acceptable alternatives to give the agent.

Edit: Also - in response to your question about the length of time you need for a connection at CDG - 1 hour and 15 minutes is too short for sure. You’ll get a variety of responses on here about what is long enough - but that connection is way too short. I like 3+ hours at CDG.

Thanks.

We originate in Madison WI >Detroit>CDG>Naples

There is an MSN>ATL>CDG>Naples that gives us a 3hr layover at CDG getting there at 6am vs 8am for the same 9am flight out of CDG to Naples

When I called Delta they said the Air France (Delta Partner) rules were not in our favor, whatever that means.

I would call back and talk to someone else. If Delta sold you the ticket, Delta will fix the ticket.

I usually have extremely good luck with Delta agents on the phone. They're almost always helpful and I fly Delta at least 10 flights a year - so hopefully you got the rare bad agent.

I rebooked with Delta for our return trip from Berlin via CDG this spring. Changes in the Berlin/CDG leg meant we were likely to miss the flight (I tracked the Berlin/CDG flight and it was seriously late about half the time which made it even worse). I rebooked and transferred at AMsterdam Schiphol instead and it went smoothly -- I had enough time that even a somewhat late plane would not prevent the connection.

When you enter from the US you will go through Immigration/passport control but this is done airside and a specialized gate for transferring passengers.

I would rebook the Delta flight to give yourself enough time. These transfers can be done in very little time, but an hour is too tight.

Terminal 2C to 2D without having to go through security a 2nd time

I cannot think of an airport, anywhere in the world, where those making an international connection, do not go through security on an outbound leg. Transit lounges, areas where connecting international passengers avoided outbound security checks, were eliminated in the US, years ago.

is there an immigration or customs process we must go through while deplaning at CDG before boarding our flight to Naples

Immigration - yes. CDG is where you enter the Schengen zone.

Customs - no. Customs is at NAP.

Delta told us to hang tight because there will likely be another schedule change

Believe what they are telling you.

Air France (Delta Partner) rules were not in our favor

This likely means that your scheduled CDG connect time is within the minimum as determined by AF. Some of AF´s connect times at CDG are very short, well under 2 hours. AF has determined that an acceptable, to them, percentage of passengers successfully make connections within this scheduled time frame. Those missing these connections are scheduled on the next available flight to their destinations. The next scheduled flight may or may not be the next available flight.

It is unlikely you have much choice, but you may ask for a reroute. Also consider that the CDG immigration/security lines for connecting passengers are not the same as those used by those terminating at CDG. Connecting immigration/security goes much faster than does the non-connecting immigration or the security for originating passengers.

I asked Delta for a different flight since they were the one that sent me the email saying my conncetion is too tight. I gave them an updated itinerary that would get us there 3 hours before the connecting flight, not 1hr 5min. They told me it would be $1200 extra per passenger and I said absolutely not. Then they said the schedule change was in our favor ........wait for it......by 5 min therefore they wouldn't just rebook us at no cost. Geeeeeeez.

I cannot think of an airport, anywhere in the world, where those making an international connection, do not go through security on an outbound leg.

For one thing, CDG is one such airport, though admittedly not for all itineraries. I have done a JFK-Paris-Bucharest itinerary last September where I did not undergo a single check in Paris (no passport control, as Romania is not a Schengen state, and no security either).

For intra-Schengen connections and for Schengen-to-non-Schengen connections, CDG also doesn't typically require security checks either.

More systematically, Amsterdam permits arrivals from the US to make an onward connection (with passport control as appropriate) without a security check either.

Security at the connecting airport is by no means required. It's all about policy and/or airport layout, and it's not a stupid question for the OP to ask if they can bypass it.

This is not really a reply but an add on to this question. I think I know the answer. I have a flight from Naples to Minneapolis in October with a one hour layover in CDG. (lv NAP at 12:20, arrCDG 2:40, lv CDG 3:40) Apparently Delta with will not let me change flights to one with a longer layover (at no fee) because the first leg is Air France. I will have to get from terminal 2F to 2E. Is this even possible? There is a flight that leaves Naples at 6:10am, which gives me a 6 hour layover in CDG. Any advice????

I'm in the same boat, DTW to NAP via CDG with 1 hour 5 minutes layover. I booked direct from delta.com without realize how short is the layover, how does delta even present this as valid trip? @rlightfoot2, Did you switch flight?

I'd keep trying -- I got Delta to change me to a flight transferring at SChiphol on our return instead of the too tight connection at CDG. This is terrible customer service -- to change the times and then not let you change. They don't care -- they aren't the ones who lose a few days of their vacation if this goes sideways.

You can google for making the transfer from 2C to 2D at CDG to see exactly what you need to do (or any other combination). Since you will have to really run when you arrive, you need to know exactly what is needed. Some transfers involve airside shuttles. Airside transfers are totally separate from arrival passport control -- you follow yellow correspondence signs and there will be passport control for entering schengen. when we made a similar transfer at Schiphol there was no security just passport control.

Many US flights land a bit early these days as they build in some extra cushion to avoid getting 'late arrival ' statistics. So you may be lucky. And hour can be enough, but things have to go very smoothly for that to be so. Be sure you are carrying at least a change of clothes in your carry ons because you may not see your luggage for days or ever.

If you end up unable to change anything, keep in mind that eastbound transatlantic flights are typically 15-30 minutes early - if they leave on time, of course!
And 2C to 2D is definitely one of the shorter CDG transfers.
I would still attempt to change the itinerary, but if you cannot, things are still likely to work out OK.

These replies are greatly appreciated. It now looks like my Delta flight arrives gate 2E, making it a somewhat longer trek to terminal 2D. I also found a website listing arrival times for my Delta flight the last couple days and it was 08:18 (late) and 08:09 (1 min early). Im going to monitor these arrival times this week. But I'm going to make another run at Delta for the Atlanta connection to CDG which gets me there 2 hours in advance of my connection to Naples. I agree with the above post - why would they let me book it then email me I'm likely to miss my connection?

Janattravels44: we're only bringing carryons so at least we have that covered. We're also flying comfort+ so that should get us off the plane a few minutes quicker.

rlightfoot2, what date is your flight if you don't mind me asking? we are fighing out 10/16 arriving 10/17, DTW-CDG-NAP. If you are flying before us, can you please let me know how it went, vise versa, I will keep you update if we go earlier than you.

Leaving 10/18 arriving CDG 10/19

rlightfoot2, we have changed our delta flight to DTW-FCO-NAP, with 4 hour layover in Rome on the same date, around the same DTW departure time (5:45pm). It's actually $350 cheaper per ticket which we got ecredit for. Though you might consider switch too.