DernierVirage

Good morning, I hope that those of you who use CDG frequently can help me.

I had not taken a flight out of CDG for more than three years, but a few weeks ago I took a flight from 2E, CDG - EDI. Before passport control, there was a guy weighing all the hand-carry bags, something I had never seen before. It was a Saturday afternoon and there were hardly any passengers, I don't know if that is relevant.

Anyway, I was at around 9kg (just laptop bag and a very small case), no problem, but he told me that the limit was 12kg. This got me thinking about my return flight from here to HKG, where I will have a bigger case (but within the dimension limits), which may take me over the limit. I will be taking CX from 2A and I just wondered if I am likely to run into problems and be required to check in my hand carry case?

Thanks for any input you can give me.

Goldorak

I have never seen that in my hundreds of flights ex-CDG including plenty out of 2E recently. I'm flying out of 2E tomorrow and will report if I see something unusual.

TLVtraveler

What airline did you use? Some low cost carriers bring along their hand luggage sizers to outstations... if you are flying KL/AF/DL then I have not encountered any baggage weighing yet.

Goldorak

OP said he was flying CDG-EDI from 2E, so this is all AF.

sbams

I have seen LH weigh carry-ons (at ORD) but as yet never had this with AF/KL

DernierVirage

@Goldorak, @sbams:

Same here - during all the years I flew regularly with AF, I never saw this happen anywhere with them, which made me wonder if this was a new, non-airline specific, system introduced by AdP (hence my worry about my Cathay Pacific departure).

For what it's worth, I in fact passed through 2E on Saturday 26 September, at about 1.45 p.m, and there was hardly anyone around, especially at the barriers going to passport control. The three or four people already there were all having their things weighed. The young guy who weighed my stuff didn't seem too sure of what he was doing, as if it was his first day on the job.

carnarvon

The weight of carry-on, is carrier specific! How can you be sure of what you're checking.

MH for example only allows 7 Kg (even in business class), but only the check-in staff of the carrier would know the rules. Not a guy in the middle of the airport...

DernierVirage

Indeed.

The more I think about the whole scenario, the weirder it seems !!!

carnarvon

Are you sure it was not a scam? Some guy pretending to weigh the luggage to then extort something out of you if the luggage was deemed "too heavy".

DernierVirage

You never know He looked completely paumé, that's for sure !!

To be honest, I can't recall exactly where he was, but it was more or less just inside the barriers, where there were a couple of weighing machines set up.

lpjanssen

In CDG 2E this is common business for at least several months now. I assume it is all AF anyway so they know what to check for ? It is indeed happening in the queue just prior to passport control. They will pick out individuals passing through that queue and guide them in a small separate lined off space where they can measure and weigh carry on. If all ok you get back into the queue. If there is a long and slow queue then this is actually a shortcut ;-).
Nothing of this in the SkyPriority lane though - checks only happen in the normal queue.

DernierVirage

I am SkyPriority, but I was asked to go the other way, which meant that I was stopped to have my things weighed.

That said, there was nobody waiting, so it didn't slow me down. But still.....

Goldorak

Hi everyone, posting from 2E lounge. I did pass the check-point at exactly at the same as DernierVirage (1:45 pm) and I do indeed confirm that there was a carry-on weight check at the entrance of the Y passport control lane (nothing for SkyP or PARAFES lane). They use 2 AF-labeled cabin baggage size check device (the ones you see at every gates and check-in counters) but they have a balance integrated at the bottom. I had a quick look but not everybody is asked to check size or weight but only the "suspects". I had not been requested to be checked from the SkyP lane but it is true that I'm travelling light today.
Brand new to me. Ipjanssen says it's done for several months. I have no doubt you are right, but I sincerely never saw it before and I have taken something like a good dozen of flights ex-2E during the last 6 months.

I have no idea whether it is AF or ADP and so if it concerns non-AF terminals as well.

I believe this was only a question of time before they did that. It's becoming like crazy in some flights, especially medium-haul with people (in Y) having 2 to 3 large bags. Americans are the worst when it comes to carry-on size. I have witnessed several scenes on-board AF flights between angry pax with tons of stuffs and crew. Crews are having a hard time on busy flights. Long-haul is usually doing better.
To be followed...

DernierVirage

Thanks for this update, which worries me for four reasons:

1. If there was no Skypriority checking, why was I sent to have my stuff weighed (I first showed my mobile BP, which clearly showed my status)? Maybe in future I need to pay more attention to this, if it indeed only applies to Y/non status passengers

2. Even respecting the hand carry size limits won't guarantee that you are within the weight limit (I am sure that my normal carry on case plus laptop would have been over)

3. If it is an AdP thing, then I am not very reassured about my CX flight;

4. If this is now the new norm, has there been any information sent out about the procedures ??

Enthilza

Yep. I have seen it in 2F as well where the guy was mainly checking the weight of the bags. He will stop pax whose bags were, as far as I could tell, within the size limits of carry-ons but which seems too packed/stuffed. It's not the case every time I am there, but it's quite frequent.