EES at Frankfurt

Posted by pahulagway (USA) on 10/14/26 06:36 AM

Hi! Looking for advice from those who have recently gone through EES at Frankfurt Airport.

We’ll be landing at FRA from Atlanta December 19th and scheduled to arrive around 8 AM, and we’re trying to decide whether to book our train to Nuremberg for 10:00 AM or 11:40 AM.

For those who have experienced EES in Frankfurt, how long did immigration take, including the biometric process? Would a 2-hour connection be realistic, or would you recommend allowing almost 4 hours?

We went through EES in Amsterdam this past summer, and it wasn’t bad at all, but we’re not sure what to expect in Frankfurt.

Would appreciate hearing about your recent experiences. Thank you!

Posted by Fritz

Bavaria

10/14/26 08:14 AM

2733 posts

No recent experience, but -
the easiest thing to do would be to check with your airline to see if they offer the DB Air&Rail Ticket. Then you can take any long-distance train, whether or not you arrive at the platform on time.

Posted by Sandancisco

Bay Area SF & Uppsala Sweden 🇸🇪

10/14/26 08:49 AM

2211 posts

Unfortunately, there isn't a good way to predict how long it will take. I like Fritz's suggestion. One of many threads recently on FRA is below -https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/ees-frankfurt-time-to-allow.

Germany is still stamping passports, so be sure to get yours stamped! Enjoy your trip.

Posted by DKW

Georgia

10/14/26 10:14 AM

19 posts

My family and I flew that exact same flight this past July. You will arrive at terminal 3. When we went through the EES system there, there were very few people in front of us in the line so it took us about 5-10 minutes to get through.

I have heard a lot of people complain about FRA and EES. As people have stated, depending on the time you arrive, I think a lot of it depends on which terminal you arrive at. I think if you arrive at terminal 1 (which is Lufthansa’s main terminal and maybe the arrival of Star Alliance partner United Airlines), then the lines may be longer.

The train terminal at FRA is not at terminal 3 so you will have to take the airport TRAM over to wherever it is (I think terminal 1).

I would say if everything went perfectly, you could make the 10A train. But if the plane is late arriving, or if the EES is longer than when we went through in July, or you have problems finding the TRAM to the terminal with train station, or any number of other reasons, then you are cutting it very close.

I would book the 11:40A train and not worry about stressing out on whether you make the 10a train.

Posted by Fritz

Bavaria

10/14/26 10:51 AM

2733 posts

Given my experience with delayed flights, I wouldn't book a specific train in advance just to save a few euros. If the Air&Rail ticket option mentioned above doesn’t work, I’d either buy a standard-fare ticket directly at the station in the airport (approx. €130 for two), which is valid on any train, or accept the longer travel time on regional trains and use a “Quer durchs Land” ticket (€63/2) or take the Flixbus (either from FRA or from the main station, approx 20 daily connections altogether, approx. €35/2; download the Flixbus app and book your ticket as soon as you've cleared immigration).