Frankfurt Main Airport

I tend to think many people are unfair in assessing this airport. It is very large. All travelers know this. Longer layovers are prudent here. And, there are plenty of very good shops and restaurants to make a layover enjoyable. I got some very good pricing, very, very good on Business Class seats from Austin to Toulouse. The only concern was too short a layover on the return leg from Toulouse to Frankfurt. 50 minutes. So, I signed up for the Frankfurt Airport Gate to Gate Service. It was €85,00, total for my wife and me. I believe up to four (4) can avail themselves of this for the same price. We actually landed at a real gate. The attendant met us as we deplaned. We went down a stairwell next to the gate, onto the tarmac and into a car which took us from 1A to 1Z. We got out of the car and walked up to the Immigration Control, and were expedited through. We then got into a golf cart and sped through, stopping briefly at the US-bound documents check, the onwards to the departure gate. About 25 minutes. We boarded with about 10 minutes to spare. All far cheaper than a couple of nights in Frankfurt due to a missed flight. Earlier, inbound, we had a layover of 1.5 hours and had a very pleasant time in the Lufthansa lounge. A good experience, both ways.

Departure organization is OK but arrival is terrible. Planes park far away from terminal. Over crowded busses take too long to arrive at terminal. On terminal arrival there is only one escalator leading up to passport control and the queue for passport control blocks the exit of the escalator creating chaos. Too few passport control desks are open for such large airport. It took one hour from leaving the plane to leaving the airport. Always construction going on and nothing gets finished.

Transited at Frankfurt going from Minneapolis to London and back again on a family trip to visit relatives. I was intrigued to see the world's first commercial airport - so old they used to fly Zeppelins. But the historical "cool" wore off quickly with long walks between gates, no directions to the service desk we needed, and no information about the gate of our connecting flight posted - we had to ask the airline staff for help. We endured long lines at the service desk, and bumbling and rude security personnel. We rushed past plenty of shops and restaurants, but the distances we had to walk precluded stopping anywhere. At the gate, the toilets and urinals in the restroom were all clogged, giving offensive odor to the entire gate area, and staff were doing nothing about it. Sure, it's the world's first commercial airport, but I bet some of those original passengers are still waiting in line at the service desk or still trying to make their way to the gate.

Frankfurt Main Airport is an awesome airport, lounge chairs, smoking room for smokers (I am not), and showers, did I say showers. It was 8 euros for bathroom and shower, but after a 8 hour long flight from ORD, I definitely needed that. I was lost for a minute and I wanted to get breakfast after my shower, and one of the attendants at the airport helped me out. Result, scrambled eggs and nice coffee.

Frankfurt Main Airport is huge. Every time I transit there, I wear sneakers (I have to run every time, so just in case, I recommend you wear sports footware). Even though is very big, it is very well organised. Departure halls are big, you have plenty of shops, lounges, seating. It also depend which terminal are you departing. Terminal 1 has C, B, A and Z gates. You can find the electricity stations to fill your batteries (for computers, phones or whatever you need). You can also find some complimentary drink stations. If you travel with children, make sure you really have enough time between flights, since the airport is huge. Have a stroller with you or you can rent one.

Great airport. Enough seats. All the airport staff speak really good English, and are friendly. Free wi-fi for 24 hours. The only disadvantage is that there are no power plugs between seats near the gates, I had to sit on the floor and use the power plug near a wall. Also, in the passport control of the departure flight, I had to wait for an extra minute because on the arrival flight, my passport was not stamped.

Flew from Frankfurt to Athens with Lufthansa. Frankfurt International is the second biggest airport I've visited, after JFK, and I was impressed. I liked the fact that I could move freely in the airport. With everything being automated, I was a bit reserved on how well the automatic drop-off machines would work. I had no problem with them and left my luggage in an efficient way. The airport staff were very friendly and helpful (with the exception of a Duty-Free shop worker), while the stores there were more than enough to help pass time until the flight. I was very pleased by the nice structure, as well as the cleanliness of the restrooms.

This is the first time I experienced such a disrespectful attitude when passing through security. My artificial hip, which is made of titanium always sets off the metal alarm. I also use a wheelchair when travelling since I cannot stand or walk for any length of time due to arthritis. In all other airports, the staff have been courteous and respectful when requesting a pat down. In Frankfurt, both times I passed through on the 8th and again on the 21st July, the woman who inspected me was rude and pushy. In addition to this issue, because I needed assistance between flights, my family and I were transported from one airport section to the other, with most staff seemingly confused over what to do with us, security staff were rude when we passed through the second clearance, and we nearly missed our connecting flight to Marseille. I will certainly never book a connecting flight through Frankfurt again as this was an unnecessary stress we did not appreciate.

Arriving at the airport having done online pre-check-in I headed to bag drop with Air Canada. 2 counters were open and one for airport check-in. After 50 minutes waiting I got to the front of the baggage drop. The check-in was actually moving faster. As my bag was processed the ancient computers crashed and I was set to wait. Once I headed to the security check point I was greeted by short queues and terrible service.

Found the airport to be very clean and ordered. The passport control was quiet and we had no queue. We had been advised not to go through security as no amenities and this was great advice. Then we met the security check. They could hardly be more offensive, one staff member ripped my passport out of my pocket and said next time you take it out! I was being very polite, it was gratuitous and absolutely not called for.