旅行記 4.Travel Diary: Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, France (2007)

Travel Diary: Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, France (2007)

When I travelled to Germany in 2007 from Narita via Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport in France, I ran into big trouble. I took a JAL flight from Narita to Charles de Gaulle and was supposed to transfer to a smaller plane heading to Hanover Airport in Germany. At that time, JAL and Air France had an alliance, so my connecting flight was actually operated by Air France.

Before leaving Narita, I found out that Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport was having an employee strike. I asked the JAL desk agent to issue all of my tickets in advance, as I imagined it would be very difficult to get a ticket at an airport undergoing a strike. I was very anxious about it and eagerly tried to persuade the receptionist. However, she simply said, "Even during a strike, you won't have any problems. The ticket system works fine, so don't worry about it." In the end, I believed her explanation, but this was the start of my trouble.

When I arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport and went through immigration, there was no problem. However, when I looked down at the concourse from the exit, there were enormous crowds of people lining up, sitting on the floor, or rushing around. It looked like total chaos, and my anxiety became a reality.

I thought that first of all, I should find the transfer ticket counter. I managed to find the counter smoothly, but the line was extremely long, so I joined it. I thought I had enough time for the transfer because I had four hours before my next flight from France to Germany. I waited in line for an hour, but it only moved about one or two meters, even though the line seemed to be over 100 meters long. I realized that even if I stayed there, I would only advance another four meters! This was because all the employees were on strike, leaving only a few managers to handle all the customer complaints.

I realized that staying there was a bad idea, so I decided to try to catch a ground staff member and ask if there was an easier way. However, the few ground staff available were surrounded by many furious travelers, and I felt there was a fat chance for me to speak to them in my non-native English. After the ground staff answered a few travelers, they quickly escaped into their office. The angry crowd then tried to target the next few staff members in the crowded concourse.

I gave up and wanted to take a rest while considering my next strategy. I was almost ready to give up completely, as I was feeling tired and started considering booking a hotel outside the airport as Plan B. I moved to a higher spot to overlook the whole concourse and think about how to cope with the situation.

By then, I had only two hours left, and time was running out. Unable to focus while sitting there lost in thought, I looked across the area and noticed that while almost all parts were still crowded, a slightly long corridor leading to a back door—which was probably used for airport staff—had no people around. After keeping an eye on the passage, I saw a ground staff member come out from the door and walk toward the concourse. About 15 minutes later, another ground staff member came out. As soon as he stepped out into the open concourse, many travelers rushed over and surrounded him.

Suddenly, a great idea came to me: I should wait behind the door and catch a staff member before anyone else could. I moved over there and waited. After five minutes, a middle-aged ground staff member came out, and I quickly approached him to ask how to get my ticket to Germany. He listened to me while walking, reaching the concourse as I was explaining my situation. Just as he started talking to me, a young Western couple aggressively pushed between us and started talking over me. I tried to tell the woman, "I was the first person to speak with him," but she completely ignored me and kept venting her complaints. She was hysterically excited, and I couldn't do anything about it.

However, the ground staff member was a very kind gentleman. He told the woman, "Stop. This gentleman was first, and you are second." I felt relieved and was able to explain my situation. He gave me directions, and I thanked him.

The directions he gave me seemed very strange: he told me to go straight to the security check gate to get my next flight ticket information. So I moved toward the Domestic Line and headed to the security check gate. (At the time, I didn't know that travel within the EU was considered domestic, so I had initially tried to find an international line, but that's another story.)

I went to the security check gate, and when I tried to pass through, the officer said, "Please show your ticket." I replied, "I don't have one because a ground staff member told me to go straight to the security gate." He said, "OK, please tell me your name," and I gave it to him. To my surprise, a list of names was posted on the side of the security booth, and my name was on it! He said, "You should pick up your ticket at baggage claim." I couldn't believe my ears and asked, "Could you say that again?" He repeated that I should go to baggage claim. So, feeling suspicious, I went there anyway.

I approached the baggage claim desk and asked, "Sorry, this might sound like a strange question, but can I pick up my ticket here at baggage claim?" He asked for my name. I gave it to him, and I actually got my ticket! Wow.

When I checked the remaining time, I only had 20 minutes left. Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport is huge, and walking from security to the boarding gate takes almost 15 minutes. I dashed all the way there, but the boarding gate printed on the ticket was different from the one on the display board! The two gates were quite far apart, and if I made a mistake, I wouldn't have a second chance to reach the other one. I decided to trust the display board.

The display board was correct, and I arrived at the boarding gate just five minutes before boarding ended. I got on the airplane and looked around my seat; there were very few people because most couldn't get their tickets in time.

I arrived in Hanover on time and started my business trip.

What a relief... (Yare yare...)