Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport changes the names of (almost) all its terminals: the new map to get your bearings

For regular visitors to Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG), this is a real revolution: ADP, the company that manages the airports in the Parisian capital, has decided to after more than four decades of Changing the names of terminals at Europe's third largest airport by number of passengers.

The decision is a logical consequence of the expansion over the years of the dedicated infrastructure passengers, which had 'forced' ADP to 'abominations' of the type 'Terminal 2EK', '2EL' and '2EM' to differentiate the later stages of terminal 2E development, the newest of those made at CDG.

CDG is divided into two rather separate and independent areas: the iconic Terminal 1 which hosts many non-EU companies and some from the Union, located in the northern part of the terminal area. And Terminal 2, located further south.

The latter, originally consisting of a kind of '8' formed by four buildings (called 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D, dedicated partly to Schengen flights and partly to non-Schengen flights), expanded tremendously westward with two new terminals, the 2F (dedicated to Schengen flights mostly of the flag carrier Air France) and the 2E, which in turn has grown over the years through two 'satellites', reason why the original building was referred to as '2EK? and the two 'piers' as '2EL' and '2EM'.

An additional building located on the western edge of the airport and connected to the others only by bus, is called Terminal 2G and hosts flights of Air France's regional subsidiary, 'Hop!'

Finally, in the area between Terminal 1 and Terminals 2, there is the small and little-known Terminal 3, which hosts mainly charter flights. In short, quite a mess, to put it mildly....

All this will change as of March 2027, When the terminals will be renamed in an operation that ADP described as "simplifying" and "streamlining" the 'airport navigation' of passengers, especially transit passengers who make up 30% of the total number of those who use the airport each year.

The only building that will not change its name will be the current Terminal 1, which will remain Terminal 1.

The current Terminal 3 (the one dedicated to charter and 'leisure' flights) will become Terminal 2. Terminals 2A and 2C will become Terminal 3, and Terminals 2B and 2D will become Terminal 4. Terminal 2E (including 2EK, 2EL and 2EM) will become Terminal 5, with the three boarding areas designated as B, C and D. The current Terminal 2F will become Terminal 6 and the current Terminal 2G (the one from 'HOP!') Will be renamed Terminal 7.

The 'make-up' operation will be huge, given the size of the airport and each terminal involved: it will be equivalent to changing 1/3 of all street signs in the city of Paris, with Approximately 3,000 new signage markers installed in the terminals, 600 in the parking lots and 250 along airport access roads and airport motorway. The procedure will involve 900 companies and about 90,000 employees and Will take place between September and December 2026. New signs will remain 'covered' until March 2027, when instead the old ones will be covered and then gradually removed. (Groupe ADP photos and maps)