Start with two times from your airline
Every “arrive X hours before” advice comes down to two times only your airline knows: when bag check closes and when the boarding gate closes. You can find both in your booking confirmation or the airline’s app. Then allow extra time for the lines below.
Typical arrival times
- Long-haul international: around 3 hours before departure is the conventional target.
- Schengen short-haul with no bags: around 2 hours, often less with online check-in.
- Checked bags: the bag check line can take longer than security — arrive in time for it.
These are starting points, not rules. Busy departure times, school holidays and strikes make every line in the building longer.
Things that add time at CDG
- Terminal size: Terminal 2E’s K/L/M halls add real walking time; gates there are not “a quick walk from security”.
- Schengen vs non-Schengen: non-Schengen departures involve passport control with variable queues (and EES registration for non-EU passports).
- VAT refunds: customs validation before departure can add a meaningful stop — see our VAT refund guide before counting on it.
- Lithium batteries in checked bags: re-packing at bag drop is a classic time-eater; sort power banks into hand luggage at home.
- Getting there: RER B works in 2026 can stretch your journey to the airport; a missed train does not wait for anyone.
A worked example (hypothetical)
Here is a hypothetical example. Your flight is long-haul from Terminal 2E hall M, departing at 17:00, with one checked bag, and you take the RER B from Paris.
Suppose bag check closes 60 minutes before departure (check your airline’s actual time). Then aim to be at bag check by around 15:15–15:30, and leave central Paris around 14:15–14:30 to allow for the ride.
Check the day’s RER B service and your airline’s deadlines before relying on any timing worked out this way.