Photo: Iglwch / Shutterstock.com
Air France-KLM wants to make it easier for passengers to make a tight connection at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG).
The airline is launching a new program, the “Short Connection Pass,” in partnership with Groupe ADP, which operates Paris’s airports. The pass will track how tight a connection a traveler has and give them priority access through the airport upon landing.
The program will alert passengers via text—or, soon, through WhatsApp or the Air France App—that their connection time qualifies them for a priority pass to get through security and immigration checks. The passes are issued when the connection time falls below what Air France recommends for connecting in Paris, which is generally at least 90 minutes.
When those passengers scan their boarding pass at security or at passport control, airport staff will be notified. They will then be given priority access in the hopes they will be able to make their connection in time.
The program is not the first of its kind. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) already has a system that provides passengers with a “Short Connection Pass” to get through security and passport control faster. In the U.S., United Airlines has a similar tool called ConnectionSaver, which now uses AI to identify tight connections and can hold a departing flight for connecting passengers.