CHAOS AT CDG AIRPORT PARIS

                                            

TICKETING / EES SYSTEM  FAILURE AT CDG AIRPORT PARIS YESTERDAY ( 26th June, 2026)

For catching a flight to the US, we  had to  stand continuously for more than 3  hours , trapped outside the security  check-up gate at CDG, Paris. We were told to stay put as the computerised  system had collapsed ,  and it felt like we wouldn’t make it out. No water.  No fans. No way back. Paris was in the grip of a heatwave and inside CDG it was worse,  thousands  packed with no fresh air and  no space to move. We’d already emptied our bottles outside  the security check- up gate , and now we were choking with thirst.A Sri Lankan employee at the CDG was moved and arranged 250 ml water for us. That was a great favour ; certainly unforgettable. I told my wife in Kashmiri that we would die without water like it happened at Karbala. An Iraqi co- traveller behind us caught that one word, "Karbala"  and cried “Water! Water!” .Somehow  some 250ml tetra packs appeared in a box carried by an Airport employee. People pounced upon this box. The kind Iraqi co- traveller  pushed two into our hands.  That was great.  Arguments erupted. Crowds surged. A Turkish traveller urged us  to clap in protest. And after  hours of hell, we were released to a stampede. We  walked CDG’s endless corridors to arrive at the gate number printed on our boarding passes  only to be told that the gate had changed to 12 from 32 . Exhausted, we walked again. The last  relief came from a Gujarati employee at the United Airlines  on duty at gate 12 who saw us and enquired if we needed water or fruit juice. He  brought us to a sofa and made us sit  comfortably as the flight was delayed . By now we had also bought juices, water and some croissants . We were overwhelmed  by the humanitarian acts of the  Iraqi co- traveller, the Sri Lankan employee at CDG , and the  Gujrati employee at United Airlines   . May no  traveller see such scenes anymore  .

( Avtar Mota )

PS

It appears that the airport terminals of CDG ,Paris   ( Terminal 1 at least ) are  not designed for traveller comfort.Too much up and down through lifts,  escalators.  tunnels and moving  paths  . Inadequate free drinking water. Airport terminal may be architectural novelty but there is lesser  functional efficiency.

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