Frankfurt Airport (FRA)

Europe’s third busiest airport Frankfurt am Main in Germany is also the ninth busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger numbers. Frankfurt is Germany’s financial heartland, a hub for banks and other financial institutions, the German stock exchange is located in this city.

Frankfurt Airport is located just 12 km / 7.5 miles out of central Frankfurt. In 2010 some 53 million passengers passed through the gates that serve 275 worldwide destinations in some 111 countries. The city has some of the best rail, air and road connections in the country with Cologne and Stuttgart, the two other important commercial hubs of this part of Germany being just a couple of hours’ drive away.

The airport serves as the base and main hub of Lufthansa and Condor Flugdienst, two of Germany’s most prestigious airlines. Since the airport was inaugurated in 1936, it has seen many changes, expansions and additions. At present the destination has a total capacity of 58 million passengers per annum, but given that in 2010 already 53 million used the airport for domestic and international air travel, and that Lufthansa has had to switch some of its long-haul operations to Munich thanks to capacity issues at Frankfurt, it seems inevitable that further expansion must follow over the next decade, in addition to the many alterations which are going on at present.

In the final quarter of 2011 flights began operating from a fourth runway. The airport is already compatible with the new Airbus A380 super-jet, which includes a large maintenance facility for the aircraft. Lufthansa has already stationed its A380 fleet at the airport and other airlines might follow in the future. It is envisages that by 2020 some 90 million passengers will frequent the location every year.

Terminal 1 is currently being expanded to handle an additional 6 million passengers every year, while construction works for a third terminal will start at the beginning of 2013. Terminal 3 is scheduled to cope with 25 million passengers per annum and will have at least 75 new aircraft positions.

At present Terminal 1 still has 56 gates, three concourses and there is also a train station called Frankfurt Airport Regional station at this terminal. The three concourses divide the terminal building and are categorised as A, B and C. When a second train station for long distance trains, InterCity Express and high speed trains was built, the older train station was designated for regional train services and now operates mainly as an underground station with a fast connection to the city. The later edition is called Frankfurt Airport long-distance train station and serves mainly the super fast Cologne-Frankfurt rail network.

Terminal 2, a later 1990s addition to Frankfurt Airport’s complex, has two concourses (D and E). The second terminal was inaugurated in 1994 and its design is the typical steel and glass architecture of that area. A continuous concourse links the two existing terminal buildings and different arrivals and departure zones. There are eight gates and 34 stands at Terminal 2, bringing the total number of gates to 42.

The airport is home to a large variety of airlines. From Aer Lingus to Air China, from Alitalia to Air Canada, from Cathay Pacific to British Airways and United Airlines. Passengers can choose from exotic destinations like Seoul, Taipei, Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong and domestic destinations like Berlin, Hamburg, Munich or European cities like Dublin, London, Paris or Milan.

The underground or rather metro trains operated by the S-Bahn serve the city via lines S8 and S9, departing every 15 minutes throughout the day. It only takes 11 minutes to reach downtown Frankfurt’s Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) and the heart of Frankfurt can be reached in a 15 minute train ride (Hauptwache station). It is also possible to take regional train services from Frankfurt Airport that travel to Koblenz, Saarbrücken and Würzburg. On the fast rail link passengers can travel to Cologne or Amsterdam or Brussels.

Motorists will find a selection of car rental companies have their rental desks on site. Frankfurt Airport has motorway connections via the Autobahn intersection at Frankfurter Kreuz, where the A3 and A5 can be joined. There are plenty of underground parking facilities for short and long-term parking.

A taxi rank is located just outside the arrivals area and the journey into the city takes only about 10 to 15 minutes to cover the 12 km into central Frankfurt.

Frankfurt Airport’s huge terminal buildings serve passengers not just with regard to check-in and arrivals, they also serve as a vast shopping and entertainment area. There are designer fashion outlets, watches, jewellery and accessories shops, toys, children’s clothing, the famous Steiff teddy bears emporium, grocery shops, bakers, cafes, restaurants and bars, as well as duty free shopping facilities. The shops and various place for refreshment are open from 07.00 am to 10.00 pm every day.

For more information about Frankfurt Airport, please visit the official website at http://www.frankfurt-airport.com.

FRA is the 3 letter AATA code for Frankfurt Airport. It is also recognised as is Frankfurt International. To help you in your arrival or departure you can enter the following GPS details – 50.02639, 8.54306 into your Smartphone or in-car GPS system to help you get directions.

You can see below selection of flight time’s destinations and which Airline flies from Frankfurt.

Some of the busiest airlines that fly from FRA are Lufthansa, United Airlines and Air Canada between them they cover 370 of the total destination of 243. The busiest which is Lufthansa covers a total of 3,556 flights per week and goes to 174 destinations. Lufthansa covers 20 % of all outbound flights out of Frankfurt. Lufthansa airline offers flights to Hamburg, Berlin-tegel / Otto Lilienthal, Franz Josef Strauss, London Heathrow, Schwechat International and Zürich-Kloten among others.

You can see below a selection of nonstop flights covered from Frankfurt with approximate times

When arriving in the airport you may want to rent a car and you can find a selection of the major car hire companies in the Arrivals hall or nearby. Make sure that you have an up to date credit card when hiring your vehicle. The benefit of getting a FREE Frankfurt car hire quote is that you can compare prices of most of the major car companies before you travel.