CDG: Cleared for Takeoff… Eventually!

I arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport early. Very early, actually. And I am glad I did.

I have to give CDG credit. Much of the departure process was impressively organized and automated. Check-in was efficient, the various checkpoints were clearly managed, and for an airport handling an enormous number of international travelers, everything seemed to move with purpose.

But getting through the airport and actually reaching the airplane turned into quite the journey.

First came immigration.

There was a line, of course. I worked my way through it and thought, “Good. That’s done.”

Not quite.

There was another immigration line.

Through that one, and surely now I was getting close to my gate.

Eventually I reached the gate area, only to discover another line to actually get through the gate. Boarding pass checked, another clearance completed, and I thought this must finally be it.

Nope.

Instead of walking down a jet bridge onto the airplane, we were directed onto a shuttle. And not a comfortable little shuttle where everyone settles into a seat. This was the airport version of public transportation. Most of us were standing, holding onto our bags and whatever railing we could find.

Then we drove.

And drove.

For about ten minutes.

Charles de Gaulle is enormous, and nothing makes you appreciate the scale of an airport quite like spending ten minutes riding across the airfield just to find your airplane.

Finally, there it was!

Our plane!

At this point I was ready to simply walk aboard, find my seat and congratulate myself on successfully navigating another international airport.

Except there was one last surprise.

Stairs.

We were delivered to the airplane on the tarmac, and the final leg of the journey required climbing a flight of stairs to board.

So, let’s recap: immigration line, another immigration line, gate line, standing shuttle, ten-minute drive across the airport, and finally a climb up the stairs and onto the airplane.

Whew!

The interesting thing is that none of it felt particularly chaotic. Quite the opposite. CDG had everything organized. There was a process, people knew where they were supposed to go, and the automated systems kept thousands of travelers moving through an extraordinarily complicated operation.

It was simply a lot of steps between “I have arrived at the airport” and “I am sitting on my airplane.”

And that is exactly why I arrive early.

By the time I finally stepped onto the plane, found my seat and put down my bags, I felt as though I had already completed the first excursion of the day.

Forget counting steps through Paris.

Today, I was counting clearances at Charles de Gaulle

Steps? 2,268.