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Home  >  Paris  >  First Look: Terminal 1 At Paris Charles De Gaulle Re-Opens
Paris

First Look: Terminal 1 At Paris Charles De Gaulle Re-Opens

Kyle Stewart Posted onDecember 4, 2022December 4, 2022 18 Comments
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Following its closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, Terminal 1 at Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) re-opened on December 1st, and we were there to fly home the following day. Here’s a first look at the updated terminal. 


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Terminal 1 at Paris CDG Re-Opens

Closed during the pandemic for two years of renovations, the original Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) Terminal 1 re-opened on December 1st, 2022. My family switched to a flight departing early the morning of December 2nd giving me an early look at the newly updated terminal.

Oringally designed by Paul Andreu, the circular terminal design was to be one of several satellites with boarding gates. Check-in counters are on the ground floor with arrivals and departures operating at elevated levels from the same central building.

Over the next few weeks a number of carriers (many of them Star Alliance) are set to return to the original CDG airport terminal, phasing back in from gates elsewhere in the much larger terminal 2.

Here is a list of the airlines returning and their respective dates of return according to Aviation24:

  • December 1: Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Lufthansa, SWISS
  • December 2: Aegean Airlines, Icelandair, LOT, Norwegian, SAS
  • December 5: Air Algérie, Bulgaria Air, Egyptair, Srilankan Airlines
  • December 6: Air India, Fly One, Oman Air, SATA Açores, Sky Express, Ukraine Intl. Airlines
  • December 7: Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines
  • December 8: Cathay Pacific, Etihad Airways, Kuwait Airways
  • December 9: Qatar Airways, Saudia
  • January 9: United Airlines, Aer Lingus
  • January 10: Emirates, Iran Air
  • January 11: Air Canada, Air Madagascar
  • January 12: Air Senegal
  • January 13: All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines

Classic Style, Modern Updates

Terminal 1 held onto its classic style but with added modern updates. It encapsulates a time when flying was romantic, novel, and something special. Adding modern updates to this classic look and feel makes it functional in the modern era without abandoning the nostalgia.

CDG Terminal 1 art

CDG Terminal 1 ground floor

CDG Terminal 1 entry

CDG Terminal 1 Hall 2 checkin counter

Self check-in kiosks and manned counters wrap the building for a smooth and easy experience for passengers.

CDG Terminal 1 checkin desks

A hallway leading to the gates has a quick boarding pass scanner prior to entering glass-encased escalator tubes taking travelers to the appropriate level for their departure gates.

CDG Terminal 1 entry to esclator

CDG Terminal 1 boarding pass scanner

CDG Terminal 1 glass tube escalators to departure gates

CDG Terminal 1 inside the escalator tubes

CDG Terminal 1 escalator glass tubes

CDG Terminal 1 glass tube connections

We departed from gate 67 for our flight which allowed us to transport through a tiled passageway reminiscent of New York JFK’s TWA terminal.

CDG Terminal 1 gate signage

CDG Terminal 1 tiled hallways entrance

CDG Terminal 1 tiled hallway people mover

CDG Terminal 1 classic tiles

CDG Terminal 1 people mover incline

It was great to see this terminal revived. I’ll include a quick look at the Lufthansa Senator lounge in a review of my Lufthansa flight in an upcoming post.

Same Old Security

Despite an opportunity over the last few years with reduced passenger load (or in this case, complete terminal closure) the airport’s famed security process is the same, I am sad to report. Despite relatively few gates, passengers were bursting at the seams on both sides of the security line because of its placement and the aged original design of the circular terminal building. It simply was not made for the passenger loads nor security protocols that the accompany Paris Charles de Gaulle airport in 2022.

Conclusion

The Terminal 1 renovation accomplished an implementation of new technology without losing the style elements that make the terminal great. Some areas are still problematic due to the design and traffic flow, including a congested gate area, security checkpoint, and limited duty free. Flyers should check with their airline prior to departure to ensure they are flying out of the correct terminal as rollout continues over the next few weeks.

What do you think? Do you like the changes? Would you prefer a new-build terminal instead? 

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About Author

Kyle Stewart

Kyle is a freelance travel writer with contributions to Time, the Washington Post, MSNBC, Yahoo!, Reuters, Huffington Post, MapHappy, Live And Lets Fly and many other media outlets. He is also co-founder of Scottandthomas.com, a travel agency that delivers "Travel Personalized." He focuses on using miles and points to provide a premium experience for his wife and daughter. Email: sherpa@thetripsherpa.com

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18 Comments

  1. Thomas Chris Reply
    December 4, 2022 at 9:07 am

    Its a great Terminal, such a endearing time capsule

  2. PM Reply
    December 4, 2022 at 10:01 am

    What’s the lounge situation like? Is the Star Alliance international lounge open/ing? There’s also the horrible dungeon to which LH used to send its pax, probably the worst airline lounge in the whole of Europe.

    • Matthew Smigielski Reply
      December 5, 2022 at 1:36 am

      As of last month, no (I was there in November 2022). Frankfurt lounges are open.

  3. James Harper Reply
    December 4, 2022 at 10:35 am

    I see CDG T1 retains all the attraction of a multi storey car park. I guess it was too much to hope for to see any real improvements. If the French are so fond of it, may I suggest it becomes the CDG home of Air France and all others move to T2?

  4. shoeguy Reply
    December 4, 2022 at 11:34 am

    It is a unique structure, but simply awful to transit through, fly into, or out of. Low ceilings, bad lighting, no open spaces. Very dated, no matter how many cosmetic improvements have been made. It looks and feels like an underground parking lot. Truly awful terminal, well past its prime.

    • PM Reply
      December 4, 2022 at 2:06 pm

      I have always enjoyed T1 as an arriving passenger – it’s hard to get lost, the moving walkways do the heavy lifting but you can still get some steps in, and baggage reclaim isn’t too slow for a major airport (not sure about passport queues as I would typically travel from/via the Schengen area). Not nearly as good when departing, particularly if the LH dungeon is involved, but there is (or at least there used to be!) a premium security queue making things bearable.

    • Steve Reply
      December 4, 2022 at 4:22 pm

      Yeah…I have a soft spot for T1, but it was always crowded. Going through those escalator tubes made me feel like a hamster in a Habitrail.

  5. UA-NYC Reply
    December 4, 2022 at 1:22 pm

    Fun old school terminal, but as a UA flyer, I much more enjoyed my two T2 departures this year given all the T1 shortcomings noted.

  6. derek Reply
    December 4, 2022 at 3:03 pm

    Thanks for the photos!

    I cannot figure out the layout of those tubes. Someday, I’d like to have extra time in that terminal to study what goes where.

    I also fondly remember the white small circular floor tiles in the satellites. The satellites are a reminder of how small things used to be. The satellites are close together, probably making aircraft parking tight.

  7. DEE Reply
    December 4, 2022 at 3:32 pm

    Went thru Terinal 2 last week where passport and security were fast and efficient. We were impressed that we got thru all onto our next gate within 45 minutes!! So made our next flight…

  8. PW Reply
    December 4, 2022 at 6:56 pm

    According to Air Canada it’s change to T1 is temporary while baggage infrastructure work is done in T2A. Is it possible this is the same for other Star Alliance members?

    • Bob Reply
      December 4, 2022 at 7:46 pm

      Probably because even Emirates is going to T1 wherre there are in T2C in normal times.

    • JP Reply
      December 4, 2022 at 8:00 pm

      The Air Canada lounge is in T2 so that would make sense. The *A lounge is T1 so cant see the rest of the alliance moving to T2 unless this moves as the Air Canada Lounge is dated.

      That said flying out of T2 recently was a breeze. Fast track was fast <5min unlike LHR that took 35 min just on security.

      That’s said the whole of CDG sis a bit of a dinosaur in the modern age of airports. It’s not Changi!

  9. Matthew Smigielski Reply
    December 5, 2022 at 1:40 am

    Flew in and out of CDG last month (November 2022) . The pre security was abysmal. Dirty, few stores and restaurants open, along with homeless sleeping in the airport and using the washrooms to bathe. Looks more like an inner city bus station than an international airport.

  10. esgee Reply
    December 12, 2022 at 1:06 pm

    update on star alliance gold lounge t1 reopening status?

    • Kyle Stewart Reply
      December 12, 2022 at 1:38 pm

      Open. Review coming.

      • staralliance_traveller Reply
        December 19, 2022 at 11:54 am

        I looked up for information regarding the operation of the *A lounge at CDG T1 (that also includes the official website of *A) everywhere I could and in all occasions the feedback received is that the subject lounge is still closed. Did you have the chance to visit it recently?

        • Kyle Stewart Reply
          December 19, 2022 at 1:08 pm

          The Lufthansa lounge is opened in T1, which is (in essence), a Star Alliance lounge. But I didn’t encounter the Star lounge specifically.

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