Frankfurt am Main Airport, often shortened to Frankfurt Airport, is the busiest airport in Germany and plays a significant part for the country and its economy. Make sure you know everything a passenger needs to with our comprehensive guide to Frankfurt Airport!
With Frankfurt having such a strong financial presence, the airport serves as a gateway for businesses to travel to and from the city. Frankfurt Airport is also the busiest cargo airport in Europe, further boosting its importance. Lufthansa uses the airport as its primary hub, along with Munich as its secondary to bolster the regional hubs in Dusseldorf, Hamburg, and Cologne.
The prominence of Lufthansa contributes to Frankfurt Airport serving over 300 destinations in 94 countries across 5 continents with direct routes. That makes Frankfurt the airport with the highest number of direct routes in the entire world. This mind-boggling statistic is only possible due to the German flag-carrier, Lufthansa flying to 192 airports. If you have a flight that is due to pass through Frankfurt, it should come as no surprise with it being such a well-connected airport.
Frankfurt International Airport At-a-glance
Official Website: www.frankfurt-airport.com/en.html
Airport Code: FRA
Terminals: 2
Address: 60547 Frankfurt am Main,
Germany
Address for navigation system:
Terminal 1: Hugo Eckener Ring,
60549 Frankfurt
Terminal 2: Kapitän-Lehmann-Strasse,
60549 Frankfurt
Gate Checker: www.frankfurt-airport.com/en/transfer-at-frankfurt-airport/flights.html
Terminal Checker: www.frankfurt-airport.com/en/transfer-at-frankfurt-airport/airlines-a-to-z.html
Contact Number: +49 180 6372 4636
Timezone: GMT+1 October-March, GMT+2 March-October
Lost Property Contact:
Website: www.frankfurt-airport.com/en/airport-guide/help-at-the-airport/lost-found.html
Phone: +49 69 690 66359
Map: www.frankfurt-airport.com/en/airport-guide/airport-map.html – A basic 2D interactive map. A limited information PDF map is also available.
WiFi: Free WiFi is available throughout the airport. The network name is ‘Frankfurt Airport’.
Apps: Frankfurt Airport has an app available for both Android and iOS.
Frankfurt Airport Facilities
With Frankfurt Airport being such a large airport, passengers can expect to find the standard airport offerings such as ATM’s, currency conversion, luggage wrapping, free WiFi, restaurants, bars, duty-free, and shopping. The wider airport area (the Airport City) has many facilities for business travellers. These include the Frankfurt Airport Centre (FAC), which has offices and conference facilities, the Airport City Mall, for shopping with well-known retailers as well as supermarkets and restaurants, along with further office and hotel/conference space.
For passengers looking to kill time, they could make use of the Airport City Mall, if shopping would be of interest. It is in Terminal 1 and is available for those departing from any terminal and non-flyers alike as it is landside (i.e. before security). There used to be a casino on-site, but now you will have to settle for lower stakes free entertainment with the two Gaming World areas in Terminal 1 (Gate A52 and Z54/56) where you can play a range of old and new computer games.
If travelling with children who aren’t old enough to enjoy gaming, there are multiple Play Areas for kids. One is in each terminal area. For something more relaxing, why not use the yoga rooms (Terminal 1, Gate C14/16 and Terminal 2, Gate D1)? If yoga isn’t your thing, there are free movies you can watch in the Movie World areas of Terminal 1 too!
Finally, for some ‘non-standard’ ways to enjoy yourself at an airport, Frankfurt Airport has a full flight simulator set up where a real pilot will help you take off and land a virtual plane! And if you are a real flight addict, you may be interested in the various tours that take place each day at the airport. For those who like aerospace history, there is a Berlin Airlift Memorial which is home to two planes from the ’40s, just a short taxi ride away. Simply put, there is plenty to do at this well-equipped airport.
For those spending a night at Frankfurt airport and are looking for sleeping options, you can stay in one of several hotels. There are two Hilton hotels on-site, plus a Sheraton. Several further airports are a shuttle bus away.
Passengers who have an international flight that leaves the Schengen area (or arrives from a non-Schengen country) have the option of sleeping in the MY CLOUD ‘transit hotel’ at gate Z25. This airside (i.e. after security) hotel allows small rooms with en-suite bathrooms for hire for between 3 and 24 hours.
For travellers happy to forego some comfort, the airport is well equipped to rest with several lounger style seating areas and many seats without armrests. In Terminal 1, concourses A, C, and Z close overnight so travellers will need to stay in concourse B, or Terminal 2.
Shower facilities are in almost every airline lounge for business travellers or those who are happy to pay for lounge access. However, a more cost-effective solution is to pay €6 for public access showers available in both terminals. The price includes a towel, shower gel, and hairdryer usage. If you are spending time on a long layover, you could make use of the landside facility in the shopping area of concourse B in Terminal 1. The others are at Gate A50, Z50, D5/8, and near Kuffler & Bucherin concourse B.
Luggage storage is possible at both terminals. Terminal 1 has the service in Departures between concourses B and C, and in the Arrivals area of concourse B. Terminal 2 has luggage storage in concourse D of Arrivals. It is a reasonable price for long term storage at €8 per day (not per 24hours), or €5 for under 3 hours. However, there is no reduced price for a backpack or hand luggage, so a handbag is the same price as your hold luggage. Winter coat storage is also possible for only €0.50 per day.
Frankfurt Airport Terminal Layout
Terminal 1
Terminal 1 of Frankfurt Airport is nearly exclusive to Star Alliance and Lufthansa’s partner airlines except for a handful of alliance-unaffiliated carriers. It has four separate areas for departures and arrivals, concourses A, B, C, and Z. Passengers will find Schengen only flights in concourse A and non-Schengen flights in concourse Z. Concourse B and concourse C operate flights to all destinations. Travellers without a visa to enter Germany/the Schengen area are only allowed in concourse Z. The terminal has a three-level split. On level 1 you will find all arrivals, level 2 has departures and check-in, with level 3 for hotel and rail access. Additionally, there is a ‘level 0’ which has car parking and a regional train station.
Terminal 2
Skyteam and Oneworld airlines operate from the smaller, but newer Terminal 2. The terminal has two concourses, D and E. You can travel between the two terminals by a free automatic rail ‘SkyLine’ shuttle service in just eight minutes. Although not as large as Terminal 1 and without any Lufthansa presence, Terminal 2 still has all the facilities you can expect at an airport.
First Class Terminal
There is a small terminal for the exclusive use of Lufthansa First Class passengers. This terminal is effectively a sub-terminal of Terminal 1 and only cates for a small number of passengers. All check-in processes, security and customs are in this self-contained terminal. Transport to the plane from the terminal is by a luxury car.
Frankfurt Airport Connections
Frankfurt Airport is a short distance from the city of Frankfurt at around 11km in a straight line. There are multiple options to get to the city centre, or elsewhere in Germany, directly from the airport. Long-distance and regional rail services only operate from Terminal 1, so passengers in Terminal 2 will need to make use of the free shuttle before making their onward journey. Bus connections are also possible for both short local and longer national and international trips.
Bus: Buses operate from both terminals at Frankfurt Airport with the stops outside the arrivals area at each. Terminal 1 has far more services for the local area than Terminal 2. It will cost €4.35 to get to the city with a travel time of around 30 minutes. Buses 61, 77, 72, 58, 62 will get you to the city centre, with bus 61 being the dedicated Airport bus. For longer distance travel, Flixbus also operate services to destinations around Europe.
Car: Frankfurt Airport is next to the Autobahn A3 and A5, which is the busiest motorway intersection in Europe. It is easy to travel around Germany and further afield thanks to the excellent road links. Rental cars are in level 0 or Terminal 1, and the arrivals area on level 2 of Terminal 2. All the major companies have a presence.
For travellers looking to get a taxi to Frankfurt, it will take approximately 25 minutes to the city centre. Traffic can be heavy at rush hour, leading to longer transport times. The price will generally be around €30 depending on destination and level of traffic.
Rail: There are two railway stations, each with a sole purpose. For regional trains, such as to get to Frankfurt passengers should make use of the Flughafen Regionalbahnhof. The station is below Terminal 1 and is well signed. It costs €5.00 for an adult ticket or €2.95 for a child. Journeys are quick with trains taking 10-20 minutes, depending how far into Frankfurt you are looking to go.
If you are looking to get elsewhere in Germany, then travellers can utilise the long-distance station, the Flughafen Fernbahnhof. Destinations throughout Germany, such as Munich, are possible as well as international cities such as Amsterdam or Basel. The station is accessible via walkways from Terminal 1 level 3. Lufthansa also has a partnership with DB for express rail services to several German cities. If you are flying with the airline or partners from elsewhere in Germany, a combination flight and rail ticket is possible.
Connections
Frankfurt Airport has quick connection times for passengers when travelling on the same ticket, in particular when either staying in or out of the Schengen area with minimum connection times for same terminal flights of just 30 minutes. However, if passengers need to go through customs (i.e. if you are entering or leaving the Schengen area), delays can be expected for passport checks. The SkyLine free shuttle service is available when transfers between terminals are necessary with trains leaving every three minutes. Security does have fast lanes for those with short connection times to help with making connections.
If making a self-transfer, for example, when a traveller purchases separate tickets for a journey from two airlines, more time will be required. Baggage collection can slow down progress if passengers travel with hold luggage. Depending on the routes, passengers may also need to exit and enter passport control twice. For travellers wishing to self-transfer, a two-hour minimum connection is advised.
Frankfurt Airport Lounges
Lufthansa looks after their passengers at their home airport with over a dozen lounges. There are a decent number of options for business passengers from other airlines also, as well as some publicly available options (for a fee). All Lufthansa lounges are in Terminal 1, except for the lounge in the exclusive First Class terminal. Deutsch Bahn (DB) also operates a lounge for their long-distance passengers with a first-class or bahn.comfort ticket.
First Class Terminal Lounges
Lufthansa First Class Lounge (this lounge has shower facilities)
Arriving passengers get a limo to this lounge
Terminal 1 Lounges (a * denotes non-Schengen)
Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge* (this lounge has shower facilities)
Located near Gate B43
Fraport VIP Lounge
Landside (i.e. before security). Located near Entrance Door 13
Lufthansa First Class Lounge (this lounge has shower facilities)
Located near Gate A13
Lufthansa First Class Lounge* (this lounge has shower facilities)
Located near Gate B22
Lufthansa Senator Lounge (this lounge has shower facilities)
Located near Gate A50
Lufthansa Senator Lounge* (this lounge has shower facilities)
Located near Gate Z50
Lufthansa Panorama Lounge (this lounge has shower facilities)
Located near Gate A26
Lufthansa Business Lounge (this lounge has shower facilities)
Located near Gate A26
Lufthansa Business Lounge (this lounge has shower facilities)
Located near Gate A13
Lufthansa Business Lounge* (this lounge has shower facilities)
Located near Gate B43
Lufthansa Business Lounge*
Located near Gate C14
Lufthansa Business Lounge*
Located near Gate C16
Lufthansa Business Lounge* (this lounge has shower facilities)
Located near Gate Z50
LuxxLounge
Landside (i.e. before security). Located between Concourse B and C
Terminal 2 Lounges
Air France Lounge/KLM Lounge
Located near Gate D26
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge (this lounge has shower facilities)
Located near Gate E7
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge (this lounge has shower facilities)
Located near Gate E7
Japan Airlines JAL First Class Lounge (this lounge has shower facilities)
Located near Gate D5 (before security, but after customs)
Japan Airlines JAL Sakura Lounge
Located near Gate D5 (before security, but after customs)
Premium Traveller Lounge
Located near Gate D26
Primeclass Lounge (this lounge has shower facilities)
Located near Gate E7
Priority Lounge
Located near Gate E5
The Emirates Lounge (this lounge has shower facilities)
Located near Gate E6