Paris CDG: The 2E Roof Collapse, a Dead Terminal 4 and the 2027 Renumbering

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Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport began in 1966 as Aéroport de Paris Nord, planned on open farmland 23 kilometers northeast of central Paris so it could grow without the suburban fights that boxed in Orly and Heathrow. It covers 32.38 square kilometers, about a third of the size of Paris, and spans three départements, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-d'Oise, plus six communes. Terminal 1, designed by Paul Andreu and opened in 1974, is a circular concrete drum linked by tunnels to satellite gates. Terminal 2, opened in 1981 for Air France, grew into seven sub-terminals, 2A through 2G, with 2G far enough away to require a shuttle bus, a layout the episode ties to CDG's lost-luggage reputation.

On May 23, 2004, shortly after it opened, part of the elliptical concrete roof of Terminal 2E collapsed near Gate E50 and killed four people; the concrete shell lacked sufficient steel reinforcement, and rebuilding that section cost about 100 million euros. A 9 billion euro Terminal 4 meant to add 30 to 40 million passengers a year was canceled in 2021 as incompatible with France's climate goals. Instead, the CDG Express rail link is due in early 2027, and on March 16, 2027 the terminals will be renumbered in sequence from 1 to 7.

• About 70 million passengers a year use CDG, and 105 airlines served it in 2025, second only to Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi.
• Bags connecting between sub-terminals can ride over a kilometer of conveyors and then cross active taxiways on driven carts.
• Operator Groupe ADP spent 250 million euros refurbishing Terminal 1 during the COVID-19 downtime, with a bistro-style lounge by Maxime Liautard and Hugo Toro.
• CDG handled over 1.9 million tons of cargo in 2024, second in Europe only to Frankfurt.
• Under the new scheme, Terminal 3 becomes Terminal 2, 2A and 2C become Terminal 3, 2B and 2D become Terminal 4, 2E becomes 5, 2F becomes 6 and 2G becomes 7.