That scene at CDG felt exactly like my last time there total gridlock before security. The whole mess comes down to timing and layout. They schedule a bunch of big departures close together, so hundreds of people show up at once. Staffing always seems light, and every other bag gets pulled for extra screening, which slows everything down.
The lines for passport control and security mix together, so half the crowd ends up in the wrong place. Add in a few broken machines and those long walks between terminals, and the whole system just collapses. Once it starts backing up, there’s no recovering until hours later.
Honestly, if you’re connecting through CDG, give yourself extra time or just avoid tight layovers altogether.
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