The default rules from airline policy
- One booking: your bag is often checked through to your final destination. Check the baggage tag or confirm with your airline (official airline policy).
- Separate tickets, checked through = yes: some airline combinations can send your bag across tickets. If confirmed, you can remain a transit passenger.
- Separate tickets, checked through = no: you must collect your bag at CDG and check it in again — this is the default under official airline guidance.
- Separate tickets, not sure: plan to collect it. A surprise at the carousel is far better than missing your next bag check deadline.
Read your baggage tag before you fly
Your bag tag shows where the airline plans to send your bag. A tag reading CDG means the bag will stop in Paris. A tag showing your onward destination means it is checked through at least that far. Photograph it before you leave — it is also the reference you need if the bag is delayed.
If you collect your bag, you leave the transit area. You may need to pass passport control (depending on where your flight arrives from), and your next check-in is from the public area. Airport Transit Visas do not cover entering France.
Situations that surprise people
- Airline changes terminal or flight: after any rebooking, check with your airline about your bags — the through-checking arrangement may need to be set up again.
- Overnight connections: many airlines will not hold baggage through an overnight stop even on one booking — ask before assuming.
- Lithium batteries: spare lithium batteries go in hand baggage only, on every flight, regardless of ticketing (airport security rule).
Common questions
Sometimes, but “partner” is not a guarantee. Checked-through baggage across separate tickets depends on the specific airline agreement. Ask at check-in where your trip starts, and read the tag.
At the departures hall of your next terminal, like any passenger starting their trip at CDG: bag check for your second airline, then security. Terminal pages on this site list each hall’s situation.