Air France-KLM is launching a ‘Short Connection Pass’ for customers with tight connections at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.
Air France has teamed up with Groupe ADP – the operator for Paris CDG, Orly and Le Bourget airports – to minimise the time spent at security and border control when passengers have a short connection between flights.
When a connection time falls below a certain threshold, a priority process is “automatically triggered” for the passengers affected.
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Passengers will receive a text message and email “no later than upon arrival” at Paris CDG which will inform them that they are eligible for priority access at security and border control. This message will also soon be delivered via a notification in the Air France mobile app and through WhatsApp.
The airport has installed a dedicated route with multilingual signage to navigate the way. Once passengers arrive at these checkpoints, their boarding passes will be scanned and fast-track offered.
The airlines gave the example of a 45-minute connection between arriving from Toulouse at Terminal 2F and departing for New York JFK from Terminal 2E Hall K.
The new system relies on real-time information sharing between Air France, Groupe ADP and its service provider, using data such as the estimated walking time through the airport, the time needed to complete security screening and border formalities (plus the wait times at these checkpoints), and the updated departure time of the next flight.
Air France says that approximately 70,000 passengers connect through CDG, with the new solution intended to ease the experience.
This is the first concrete initiative of Air France-KLM’s new Connect France partnership with Groupe ADP, which was announced at the Paris Air Show in June.
Regis Lacote, executive VP of Operations and Innovation – Director of Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, commented:
“One month after signing Connect France, this initiative perfectly illustrates our shared ambition with the Air France-KLM Group: to streamline passenger flows and make Paris-Charles de Gaulle an even more efficient and attractive hub.
“The Short Connection Pass is simple for passengers and operationally effective – a real step forward in improving the travel experience.”
Various hubs including Frankfurt Airport and Schiphol in Amsterdam have offered similar passes in recent years to streamline the experience.
