CDG check-in, security wait time

Hello all,

I will be taking a 10:15AM international flight bound for the U.S. out of CDG on a Sunday. How early should I be at the airport? I heard that security is a pretty long process and that the lines at customs are pretty long. I would appreciate advice from your experiences at CDG.

Thanks!

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at least 2.5 hours

last two times we have flown there it has taken over two hours to get to the plane between check in, security and then in one case a long bus trip to the actual gate

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When we left last Tuesday it went quite fast--around 1 hr from time we arrived to getting thru security. Security was not bad at all. However, it could be quite variable as CDG can be quite chaotic. Our plane was nearly an hour leaving and there was hardly any place for people to sit (next to no seats at the gate) I don%26#39;t understand the idea of gates with no seats. Monitors weren%26#39;t on and no notice boards--absolutely no information unless you tried to go up and ask and that was difficult with a 100 people standing in the gate area. Food area was also chaotic--lines a half block long--as somehow the cashier process was very slow and involved. They did try to load the plane in an organized manner--I%26#39;ve been there when they don%26#39;t even attempt to load first class first and the rest in sections--they just let everyone try to surge onto the plane at once.

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%26quot;I heard that security is a pretty long process and that the lines at customs are pretty long. %26quot;

Just a clarification - you won%26#39;t clear customs at CDG when you depart, you%26#39;ll clear US customs when you arrive at your first stop in the US. (You%26#39;ll clear French customs on your way IN to France)

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I agree with Grace - allow at LEAST 2.5 hours as sometimes the line is incredibly long, and there have been times when I%26#39;ve seen them have only one immigration officer on duty with hundreds of people coming through! Also, my carry-on is almost always inspected by hand after I go through the metal detector (whereas it almost never is in any other airport I go to) so allow a little bit of extra time for that (although they%26#39;re usually quick with this.)

Somerset, you really got lucky to only wait an hour! I agree with you that the whole waiting area is difficult with very little seating, and most often I%26#39;ve had the same experience where they do not board in priority order.

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Irish, I think I used the wrong term too. I think Yoribe and I are both referring to passport control, just before the security check.

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