A couple of questions about international connections. I cannot seem to find any posts on this subject that are newer than 2 years ago.
Our outbound flights are: Toronto connecting in Paris (CDG) to Florence. Our return flights are: Amsterdam connecting in Paris (CDG) to Toronto. All flights were booked thru Delta, all flights are on Air France EXCEPT the AMS to CDG leg, which is on KLM. We will not be checking any luggage.
1. Will we have to clear customs in CDG in both directions? Or only when we arrive at my final destination?
2. Outbound we have a 4 hour layover in CDG, but our return layover is only 2 hours - if we do have to clear customs, will that be enough time?
Posted by
20 posts
Customs is only at your final destination once you retrieve your luggage. If you mean immigration/passport check, then yes. I can give you my experience last year flying ATL-CDG-FCO (Rome) and the same in reverse (all on Air France).
On the outbound, we arrived around 10AM and transferred from 2E to 2F. We had about 3 1/2 hours before our flight to Rome and it was plenty. We got through security then passport check quickly as we must have been one of the only long haul flights to arrive at that time. There's not many shopping or food options in 2F so don't expect too much there. We also had to gate check our rollaboards as AF was very strict about cabin luggage.
On the return, we also had about a 2 hour layover like you. When we arrived at 2F from Rome, there was a very long line for passport control (no security this way as we were coming from a Schengen country and you will be too). It took about an hour to get through, then there was a long line for the bus to the midfield M gates. (There are faster lanes if you have status with SkyTeam which we did not.) When you arrive at CDG, check the monitors for which set of gates you will be departing from to Toronto within 2E (there are multiple sets of midfield gates). When we finally got to the M gates, it looked beautiful. Lots of great stores and restaurants. Unfortunately, we had to rush through as our flight was already in general boarding.
My advice is study the map of CDG and know where each set of gates is within 2E and how to get there. Have a great trip.
Posted by
OP
Michigan, USA
21 posts
Thank you! This helps immensely. All of my international travel so far has been point to point, so I have not had to deal with connections in multiple countries before. I appreciate the advise regarding the CDG maps as well - although, since the tight connection is on the way home, I might not mind it if we got stuck in Paris :-)
Posted by
Paris
10212 posts
Here's a link to the Terminal maps for CDG, from the airport's official site:
http://www.parisaeroport.fr/en/passengers/access/paris-charles-de-gaulle/terminals-map
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4088 posts
Delta/AirFrance/KLM function as almost one airline trans-Atlantic.
Because of security concerns, you might encounter a checkpoint anywhere along the line. There's a good chance on your return trip through CdG that there will be a security check, possibly intensive, at the westbound departure lounge run by the airline rather than the airport. Two hours should be comfortable. As a rule of thumb, don't be distracted by duty-free shopping or refreshments until you have moved to the part of CdG where your departure gate is located (and always check the information boards in case the gate is switched at the last minute.)