Opinion on CDG connection (2hrs, 2E-2E, separate tickets)
 

Dear all,

I am very sorry to open yet another thread asking for opinions on CDG connections, but I am not 100% familiar with the airport and could really use some experts' advice.

I have a ticket on Friday on AF562 CDG-BEY, departing from 2E. It now seems I'll need to be in London on Thursday night. I am therefore buying a LHR-CDG ticket for Friday morning. There is a 9:50-12:05 flight and a (much preferred) 12:15-14:35 option.

How safe do you think a 2hrs connection in CDG, 2E to 2E, is? I am not sure whether I will have to go through passport control or security... Weather forecast for both LHR and CDG seems fine for Friday.

I'd be inclined to go for the later option, but being on separate tickets I am not entirely convinced.

Any input would be highly appreciated!!

If everything runs to plan, and you have no checked luggage, you should be fine.

But with Easter and everything it could be busy at the airports....

And if it was me, I would always maximise the time available to make the connection, rather than trying to reduce it to the minimum possible time (but perhaps your tolerance for living on the edge is greater than mine!). Otherwise I'd be worrying about it continually until I got to CDG.

Air France has a connections planner on their website which will give you an idea of how to get from one flight to the next. Also consult the terminal maps in the back of the Air France magazine. If you're lucky, they will announce the gate for your next flight as you approach CDG (there may very well be others on board connecting to your flight on a single ticket), but as soon as you get inside the terminal, you will find a monitor with the list of departing flights.

Thank you very much for your input irishguy28. For some reason I can't seem to make the "connection planner" work.

I am not eager to spend 4hrs+ sitting in CDG, hence I am inclined to go for the later option... I should have also mentioned that my tickets are fully flex, although this doesn't change the fact that the BEY flight is the last of the day...

Does anyone know if 2E to 2E is just as simple as jumping from one gate to the other, or is there a security check involved?

Not sure about the security check - in theory, coming from the UK, it's not compulsory, but I have never connected non-schengen to non-schengen in CDG. That said, it's likely you'll need to change modules between K/L when connecting, which could take a bit of time.

In any case, 2hrs should be fine as long as your first flight doesnt get delayed!

Maybe I am overoptimistic, but 2hrs seems plenty of time.
I have not done that specific connection but you should have no passport control or security. Even if your flight is delayed by an hour that should be no problem.

2hrs is definitely plenty of time. However, coming from LHR, I would be extremely cautious. Flights to/from LHR are notoriously late with the congestion of this airport and so...Even 1hr will be more than enough but involve much more stress.

Satellite questions for you:
- will you have checked bags
- do you have any status in a Skyteam FFP or do you travel in business or premium eco class ?

2E-2E involves a security recheck.

2 hour means you have about 90% chances to make your connection, but to me that is still not quite certain enough so I would personally go for the longer one. (1) Good Friday, (2) Easter holiday, (3) not first flights of the day meaning that any problem with the arriving flight will result in a delay to the departing one (4) LHR which is prone to delays and CDG which also is to a lesser extent. That said, at the same time AF 1981 has a good on time record.

Which are the connections which involve no security recheck?

Do you mean besides 2E-2E ? It's possible to do 2F-2E connections without having to re-clear security - there's even a "special" track from 2F to the M gates, involving a bus instead of the light train, and which allows you to bypass the security check.

So the only AF connections that do not need security recheck are 2F to 2E? But security recheck is needed 2E to 2E and 2E to 2F?
Is that true fro all flights to/from 2E and 2F whatever the origin/destination?

I am not sure, sorry ! :( I believe that, in theoretical rules, flights from countries in the UE but outside of schengen do not require another security check, but that flights from most other countries do. That said, i do not know if this is enforced at CDG, as I've never made such a connection there.

My CDG transfer experiences so far are the following:
- Schengen arrival, non-schengen+non-eu departure (LIM, MOW and such): there used to be a security check, but it has been eliminated as I mentioned.
- Non-schengen+non-eu arrival, schengen departure: as expected, always a security check (+ sometimes an additional passport check upon de-boarding - I have no idea if they do that on UK-inbound flights, but it can delay significantly a connection if you are not within the first pax to disenbark)

Since 2F is now entirely a Schengen terminal, i'd say all flights from/to it will get the same treatment. As for 2E, it can indeed get both non-schengen/EU and non-schengen/non-EU flights - hence my doubt.

2F to 2E and 2F to 2F are the only "security-free" connections, because 2F accomodates flights arriving from a Schengen state and thank to the European policies their pax are considered as security compliant (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/...72:0084:EN:PDF, see annex).

But, as most other European airpots, there is no dedicated zone at CDG for flights arriving from a non-Schengen European member state (it would be a bit difficult to manage in terms of flows), so they are mixed with non-European arrivals and their pax aren't considered as secure anymore.

You would need to add 2G->2G and 2G->2E for transfers that do not require a security re-check.

So AF to AF connections that require a security re-check are:
- connections from 2E (including within 2E),
- connections between 2F and 2G, for lack (currently) of an airside shuttle between 2F and 2G.

Thank you. it is all very clear now.

As pointed out by JOUY31 so in summary:

(1) Any connection from a Schengen flight to any destination (2F to 2E/F/G and 2G to 2E/F/G) does not require security rescreening

(2) Any connection from a non-Schengen flight to any destination (2E to 2E/F/G) requires a security rescreening