This guide is meant to be for passengers connecting between LH Group airlines and to/from Star Alliance flights in Frankfurt possibly for the first time. Please post all other FRA connection questions in the relevant airline's forum or in the Germany forum.
I will try and keep a summary in the first few posts so visitors can see all pertinent information straight away before asking more specific questions. Please post any corrections or additions which I will try and incorporate.
Basics or "Follow the signs"
Frankfurt Airport (FRA) has two terminals and all Lufthansa and Star Alliance flights use Terminal 1 which is divided into 3 piers: A/Z, B and C (A and Z are the same pier on two floors).
On arrival at FRA check the departure gate number of your connecting flight on the flight display boards even if you already have a boarding pass. If no flight display boards can be found, follow the signs for "Abflug/Departures" and you will eventually come to one.
The "Abflug/Departures" signs may show gate numbers (e.g. A1-16) or gate areas (e.g. B C).
According to the FRA website, the blue signs show you the way to the most important destinations, and the gray ones lead you to service facilities.
If immigration or passport control is required, following the signs to the correct boarding gate should take you through the necessary check points.
If you don't already have a boarding pass for your connecting flight, get one from a Transfer Counter or if within one hour of departure from the departure gate of your onward flight.
Terminals and boarding gate areas
(see below for the definition of Schengen and non-Schengen)
Terminal 1
Pier A : Lufthansa and partner airlines domestic/Schengen (A1-42, A50-69)
Pier B : Lufthansa and partner airlines domestic/Schengen (B1-19) and international/non-Schengen flights (B20-62)
Pier C : Lufthansa intercontinental flights (C13-16), partner and other airlines international flights plus occasional LH flights (C2-11) and domestic/Schengen (C1). Although rarely used there are non-Schengen bus gates (C17-20) at the end of Pier C close to C16.
Pier Z : Above Pier A. Lufthansa and partner airlines international/non-Schengen flights (Z11-25, Z50-69)
Terminal 2
Pier D : Other airlines domestic/Schengen flights (D21-31) and international flights (D1-13)
Pier E : Other airlines domestic/Schengen flights (E21-26) and international flights (E2-11)
Quick transfer guide
(For "domestic" read "domestic/Schengen")
Fraport's printed Transfer Guide with some useful information for connecting passengers is available in pdf format for download.
- A domestic <--> C (Skyline train or walk through terminal)
- A domestic/Z international <--> Terminal 2 (Skyline train)
- A domestic <--> B international (Transfer tunnel or walk through terminal)
- A domestic <--> B domestic (Transfer tunnel)
- B international <--> C (walk)
- B international <--> Terminal 2 (Skyline train)
- B domestic <--> C (walk)
- B domestic <--> Terminal 2 (Skyline train)
- C <--> Terminal 2 (Skyline train or walk)
- Z international <--> B domestic (Transfer tunnel or walk through terminal)
- Z international <--> B international (Skyline train)
- Z international <--> C (Skyline train)
Do I have to clear transfer security?
Check post #3 in this thread.
If you have less than 30 minutes to get to your connecting flight, you may use the Fast Lane at the security checkpoint. There are monitor screens listing eligible "Fast Lane" flights.
Transfer tunnel
The transfer tunnel is in Schengen and links Pier A (domestic/Schengen) and Pier B (domestic/Schengen). The access to the tunnel is via elevators between Gates A15 and A17 (or stairs nearby) and next to Gate B13 (or stairs nearby) but there's no sign for the actual tunnel. Simply following the signs to B gates or A gates should direct you to the elevator leading to the tunnel.
Skyline train
The Skyline train links Pier A/Z, Pier B, Pier C and Terminal 2 Pier D/E. There are two carriages, one carriage is Schengen, out of any security and not in the schengen secure area. The other links non-Schengen areas. There are separate platforms so passengers in Schengen and non-Schengen areas cannot mix. The new stop for Pier C has reduced the walking distance between C13-16 and the rest of T1.
The Skyline train is outside security whether Schengen or non-Schengen. If you take the Skyline train you must (re-)clear security.
How to find arrival and departure gates
To find out which gate your flight is likely to arrive at or depart from, check Lufthansa's Flight Status information. Beware that some flights may arrive at/depart from different gates or even different concourses on any given day from their usual gate area. Frankfurt Airport's website only provides information on exit gates (for baggage claim and going landside) and not the actual arrival gate.
Minimum connection time (MCT)
See the wiki post for details.
Note that the MCT applies if bookings are on one ticket. If flights are on separate tickets or involving a carrier other than *A, additional time must be allowed. Increased security for certain flights means security screening may be required and your arrival and departure gates may be far apart, for example if arriving at an A gate and departing from a C gate.
Bus gates
Many shorthaul and some longhaul flights arrive at remote apron positions and passengers are ferried to the terminal by bus and arrive at "bus gates". Both Schengen and non-Schengen arrivals at bus gates are marked Terminal 1 Area A , BSO (B Schengen Öst), etc. on the LH information page for arrivals.
'AEUW' or A-EU-West is a bus arrival area in Terminal 1A which allows passengers from 'clean' non-Schengen countries (such as the US and UK) to enter secure area of the terminal. AEUW actually uses A7-A10 which are
previously Schengen bus departure gates located opposite A non-Schengen and A Schengen West bus arrival gates.
A number of departures are also from bus gates and if the connecting flight is from one of these gates it is important to arrive at the designated gate in good time. The following are built as bus gates: A2-9, B1-9, B11-18, B30-33, B50-62, C17-20 though bus departures are also possible from other gates due to operational reasons, for example gates A50+.
Airport maps
A detailed interactive map of the airport may be found at:
https://map.frankfurt-airport.com/
Two pdf maps are also available on lufthansa.com.
Detailed map of Pier A/Z
https://www.lufthansa.com/content/da...nal-a-plan.pdf
Map showing locations of LH lounges
https://www.lufthansa.com/content/da...minal-plan.pdf
Schengen / non-Schengen
If you are travelling between EU countries which ratified the Schengen Treaty, there are no passport checks when crossing borders and flights to and from Schengen countries are treated as "domestic" flights at FRA.
Currently the following 27 countries are in the Schengen area: Belgium, Germany, France, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Greece, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Croatia. Although not in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are also in the Schengen free-travel zone.
Passport control and customs
If arriving from a non-Schengen country and connecting to a Schengen destination, you will go through passport control and customs for your carry-on baggage at FRA. In reality you may not even notice there are customs. You clear customs for any checked baggage at the final destination.
If connecting from non-Schengen to non-Schengen there's no need to go through passport control, though there may be security check points.
If connecting from Schengen to non-Schengen you will go through exit passport control. From A to Z (but not in the other direction) there is a priority passport control lane for C/F/*G passengers. For Y passengers there are separate lanes for EU passport and non-EU passport holders.
Finally...
If all this sounds too complicated remember one thing "Follow the signs", or to quote DownUnderFlyer:
"Just follow the signs. Don't think. Don't apply logic. Just follow the sign. You will get to your destination. You might have to go through security 2-3 times, customs, passport control, tunnels, escalators, elevators, stairs and you feel that you have just walked to your final destination.
But under no circ*mstances try to make sense of it. You will only get lost."
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