If you’ve ever spent time, and possibly frustration, finding your way around Paris’s Charles-de-Gaulle airport, you’ll likely be cheered to know that the endless iterations of Terminal 2—2A, 2B and so on, followed by three different Halls of 2E and an entirely unconnected 2G—are about to be renumbered.
But, as the illustration to the left indicates, life will still be complicated. And that’s aside from the confusion that may result from the change-over in which Terminal 3 become Terminal 2, and the present 2A+2B become Terminal 3.
After the change, Halls K, L and M of Terminal 2E will become B, C and D of Terminal 5. K, L and M were chosen because they didn’t duplicate terminal letters, but airport operator ADP hasn’t indicated the rationale for the new letters.
In fact, the three Halls are not actually directly connected to each other, so why they are one terminal is a question. Ironically, two of the three can’t be directly reached from 2E although they are considered a part of it; to reach them it is necessary to go through 2F and use a shuttle train.
Gate areas in the renumbered terminals will get letters, also. As listed at the bottom of the chart, S and R gates are in T1, V gates in T2, and so on.
The change-over is expected to take place in March 2027, at about the same time as another major change: the arrival of the CDG Express, the long-delayed non-stop train connection between the airport and the city. CDG Express will operate from the same station as the present RER-B connection, which will still exist. CDG Express will take only 20 minutes to its terminal at Gare de l’Est.
A year before the arrival of the new train, on March 1 next year, the Roissybus will be discontinued; it is a popular direct bus from the airport to the Opera area in the center of the city. It’s being dropped because over the years increased traffic has made it impossible to keep its schedule; instead a new bus line No. 9517, which will run to Saint-Denis-Playel just north of the city, where passengers can transfer to two Metro lines and the RER D.
