Just a heads up for those that may not know. I just returned from Germany this past weekend and flew out of Frankfurt. I was surprised that when we arrived from Nuremberg Airport to FRA we had to go through Passport Control. Which added time to getting to our next flight. The inital congestion came from the initial scanning of the Passport. At the beginning of the line entrance is a staff member with a Laptop scanning or manually inputting your passport info, (2 personnel for all personnel trying to get from Gate A area to Gates B & Z) once cleared, then you proceeded into the zig-zag line up to the booth where another staff member takes your passport and boarding pass to once again verify everything. This was between Gates A, B & Z. Then once you reach the entry point to Gate Z you again had your passport and boarding pass verified. We only had a 1 1/2 hour layover and if it wasn't for my mother needing the wheelchair assistance from FRA (which allowed us to bypass all the lines and deal directly with the Passport Control Officers) we would not have made it from our entry Gate A, far end, to our departure Gate Z other far end. I definitely will plan for a longer layover the next time I visit my son in Germany.
Posted by
PA
2736 posts
Interesting. We have twice within the past 10 months flown back to the US connecting from elsewhere in Europe (Schengen) in Frankfurt, under the stepped up security to the US. And both times it was simply a walk from our previous flight to the entry to Z-level, a quick look at our passports, and on our way to the gate. I have to wonder what was going on above to cause this issue.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8340 posts
I can't help but wonder if this isn't part of the security associated with the upcoming G7 conference next week.
Posted by
alameda, ca, usa
2602 posts
I flew through Frankfurt about 2 weeks ago, coming from San Francisco, and as soon as I disembarked there was a passport control desk, had to wait for one family to clear then my turn--took all of 5 minutes. At Gate Z they just gave my passport and boarding pass a cursory glance, no line.
On previous trips through Frankfurt I've noticed that if your flight has you disembarking and then shuttling to the terminal on a bus then you are sometimes required to go through TSA for a connecting flight--sometimes, not always. Bottom line--I allow 2.5 to 3 hrs layover anywhere because you just never know.
Posted by
Roseburg Oregon
57 posts
I'm flying into Frankfurt on Lufthansa and Lufthansa changed the time my plane leaves from San Francisco so that I only have 1 hour and 15" for my next flight ....from gates Z to A.....I called Lufthansa and they assured me that this was enough time to catch the next flight.
Posted by
Alexandria, VA, USA
127 posts
Kathleen-
I wouldn't worry too much. I was flying Lufthansa back from a RS tour where the plane landed at FRA at the very time my connecting flight was scheduled to leave. There were about 8 of us on the same flight. They literally took us from where we debarked, threw us in a van, and drove us through the working part of the Airport to our gate. After a quick passport control operation, I was on my way. I have to wonder what decade American air carriers last made that kind of effort.
Posted by
Grass Valley, California
506 posts
We just flew into Frankfurt to connect on a Lufthansa to Rome flight and had to do the same thing, it took a bit of time to navigate all of that. We had an almost too long lay over. When I booked this flight I did it because all the other flights that United offered had such a small unrealistic lay over. Some were actually 30 minutes. I have always wondered how does that really work out? They cannot have a million people miss their connections. But I did not want to find out for myself.