Flying out of CDG, Paris

Flying out of Paris to where? If you are flying to another Schengen country (most of Europe), then you don't have to go through passport control, so required time at the airport will be less.

But if you are flying home directly and not flying to another Schengen country, it's going to take more time. You may not need three hours every time - the time to get through passport control and security varies a lot - but occasionally you will. Last time I flew out of CDG, in 2017, I did arrive about three hours early for my international flight back to the US, and it went so quick that I had over an hour at my gate before boarding started. However, the woman sitting next to me had arrived about an hour later, and she had much longer waits, because the airport had become busier by the time she got there. She barely made it. In other words, even though I arrived at my gate with an hour to spare before boarding, it might have taken me much longer to get through had I arrived even 30 minutes later.

If you are risk-adverse, arrive three hours early and maybe you'll have an hour extra like I did - but you might hit delays and be glad you arrived early. Some people take these risks and arrive in the nick of time and don't sweat the stress. Up to you.

According to this website no you don't have to be there as early:
https://easycdg.com/passenger-information/deadlines-check-in-boarding/

However, as the previous poster pointed out you never know what can happen. The advice here is free and about what it's worth - you're the one who may not make your flight.

Thank you for the replies.

I am flying to Atlanta from Paris, so yes, I'll have to deal with customs.

I typically tend to err on the side of caution so it sounds like I'd be better served to go ahead and arrive 3 hours ahead, just in case.

Again, thank you!

I agree with Andrew’s advice. We flew back to Seattle on a non-stop from CDG a few weeks ago. We had a 10:30am flight and were on the RER at the Luxembourg stop at 6:00am.

We also don’t check luggage and had checked in on-line ahead of time.

We also had time to grab a coffee and croissant after arriving at our gate.

The risk is if you miss your flight, you have to buy another ticket and wait around even longer at the airport. That’s my incentive to arrive plenty early.

To Andrew's point, you never know about delays. The last time we flew from CDG (several years ago) we arrived at the airport 3.5 hours ahead of departure. Unfortunately we spent all that time in line for Passport Control. We have no problem arriving early. We'd rather "be bored" than to miss our flight. BTW, Delta held the plane for about 6 of us.

Those morning Delta/AF transatlantic flights are so huge and so many people checking in (I mean passport and security) at the same time — I always go for three hours.

Since you are flying carry-on only, you might get away with 2.5, but you still have to go through the real bottlenecks whether you check luggage or not.

Don't expect your CDG experience to be a very pleasurable one. I always swear I'm not returning--and I end up there.

David,

I've flown into CDG but not out of. And it was the most difficult airport I've ever been to, just to exit. We had a terrible time trying to find an exit where we could meet our Uber (we didn't and the Uber left, after charging us.)

I've watched a few You Tube videos that focus on departing out of CDG, just to get an idea of what to expect, which is why I was questioning the 3 hours. Ridiculous looking lines where people were checking in and/or checking bags but nothing else looked nearly as bad (although I don't think I've seen someone actually filming their experience or mentioning times at passport control.)

Thank you again, to all. It certainly sounds as if I should plan on being at CDG at least 3 hours ahead of my flight, just in case. When I booked it, I was hoping that having a morning flight would make the whole process quicker and smoother but it sounds like it's hit or miss at CDG.

In any event, I won't be bored if I do pass through relatively quickly. I'll grab breakfast, walk around and/or read. No worries!

And that's why we stay AT the airport the night before our flight home from CDG. Much better to be bored than to be rushed and WAY better than buying a new flight home at day-of prices. Last time we left CDG the check-in line was incredibly slow.

Make sure you can print out your boarding pass ahead of time, every time I've come home from CDG I've been required to go to the check in desk to get my actual boarding pass and sometimes those lines can be long & slow.

In case you need more convincing, last spring we flew from one of the Terminal 2’s. I say that because T2 is really a bunch of terminals. There was construction going on in the section to which we were headed, so there was no moving walkway. (Is there ever not construction going on?). We checked my husband’s Fitbit, and we actually walked a mile to get to our gate.

"Make sure you can print out your boarding pass ahead of time, every time I've come home from CDG I've been required to go to the check in desk to get my actual boarding pass and sometimes those lines can be long & slow."

We checked in on-line at our hotel the day before our flight and then I went to a kiosk to print our tickets at the airport. If you happen to be flying Delta, it's a partner with Air France, so the AF kiosks will also print out Delta flight boarding tickets. Then you won't need to stand in line at the check in desks.

Again, thank you all for your responses. They are incredibly helpful. I will most certainly be arriving at least 3 hours out. As has been said, I'd rather be bored (or walk around, looking at open shops, eating and/or drinking) than miss my flight.

Jean, I am flying Delta so I appreciate knowing that I can go to either a Delta or AF kiosk. I'm staying at a hotel so I may ask the hotel if I might be able to print my boarding pass there.

Just another quick question - - is it recommended to print the boarding pass over sending it to your phone?

I fly Delta and always have my boarding pass on my phone.

You mentioned customs. You will not be dealing with customers at CDG. Remember, you are leaving France not arriving. You will deal with passport control & security at CDG and then passport control and customs at Hartsfield.

In our experience hotels are more than happy to print your boarding pass. Some ask that you email them after checking in and they will print it for you.