Charles De Gaulle International Airport - Paris, FRA
N 49° 00.248 E 002° 33.736
31U E 467985 N 5428007
The main international airport in Paris, France.
Waymark Code: WMRMJ
Location: Île-de-France, France
Date Posted: 09/28/2006
Views: 212
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After seven years of planning and construction, CDG began service on March 8, 1974. Terminal one was built to an avant-garde design consisting of a ten-floor high circular building surrounded by seven satellite buildings each with four gates. The main architect was Paul Andreu, who was also in charge of the extensions during the following decades.
On 26 August 1988, one Merhan Karimi Nasseri found himself held at Charles de Gaulle airport by immigration. He claimed he was a refugee, but had had his refugee papers stolen. After years of bureaucratic wrangling, it was concluded that Nasseri had entered the airport legally and could not be expelled from its walls; but since he had no papers, there was no country to deport him to either, leaving him in residential limbo. Nasseri has continued to live within the confines of the airport to this day, even though French authorities have since made it possible for him to leave if he so chooses. (His story was the inspiration for the 2004 Steven Spielberg movie "The Terminal" starring Tom Hanks.)
The so-called "terminal 2" is actually not really a terminal, but rather a name applied to six distinct so-called "halls", which each possess a letter (from A to F). In other airports, such as JFK or LAX, these "halls" would simply be called terminals, so that Charles de Gaulle International Airport can be more properly described as having eight terminals altogether. When landing at or taking off from Charles de Gaulle International Airport, one should always know precisely which of the eight terminals/halls the plane lands or takes off from, as these can be located quite far apart from each other. The eight terminals/halls are indicated distinctly on plane tickets: 1, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 3.
http://www.paris-cdg.com/