Frankfurt Security

[more adventurous]

I'm looking at booking a flight that would have a layover in Frankfurt on the way to Prague (from Texas).

I've read that we won't have to go through customs in Frankfurt, but that we will have to go through security again. Would a little over an hour layover be enough time to get through security and make it to our next flight? Right now, it shows us coming into Terminal 1 and leaving out of Terminal 2 in Frankfurt, if that makes any difference. I have no idea how big FRA is or how difficult it is to get around in. TIA for any insight!

[GilliC]

You will have to go through security again in Frankfurt, but flying into Europe you typically get funneled into a fairly large security area with plenty of lanes, and from my experiences it's always been extremely efficient.

The bigger issue is that you will go through immigration and have your passport stamped at Frankfurt to enter the Schengen shared-border zone. This is a huge gamble. Depending on what other flights land at approximately the same time, this can easily be a 20+ minute wait in line, since presumably you don't have a European passport. A few times I've arrived and there was almost no queue at immigration, but other times I've arrived to find it completely packed. And with my US passport, I have to go through the "All Passport" lanes. That can take quite a while if you get there right after a flight from someplace with more complicated visa requirements.

I might consider a little over an hour to transit Frankfurt if I was flying out of Europe, since the lines are typically shorter or are more specific to the flight I'm on, and exit immigration is much quicker. However, flying into Europe it's a pretty big gamble. Especially since you need to switch terminals, I'd be very concerned with anything less than an hour and a half. I would really only consider it if there are later flights in case you miss the connection and need to be rebooked.

That said, Frankfurt is still my favorite of the major European hubs. I find that it's relatively compact for its size, and you don't have the crazy long walks you sometimes get stuck with at LHR or CDG. At least in T1 there are lots of moving sidewalks, so you can get around quite quickly. And free coffee at the gate makes me irrationally happy after an overnight flight.

[Vespasia]

Changing planes in Frankfurt was one of the worst airport experiences I've ever had. We were headed out through, from Belgium to NYC via Frankfurt.

We had to change terminals and we reached the second one by going up a flight of stairs. We arrived in a wide hallway filled with people. There was no organization, no line, just a mob scene. We were stuck in this crush for about an hour. It turned out there was one door everyone was trying to fit through and on the other side was a woman who seemed to be brand new checking passports. She took forever to do each person. After that we had our tickets checked before we could access the new terminal but they didn't scan our bags or anything.

It sucked, hardcore. I'd definitely want about 2 hours to change planes at least. I'm never flying through there again if I can help it.

[travelingturtle]

The last time we flew through Frankfurt to Dusseldorf we walked and walked and walked for what felt like forever. There were no moving sidewalks wherever it was we landed. Just a lot of walking. And the immigration lines were long. We made our connection, but it was exhausting. (I also had two kids with me under 3 and no stroller + car seats.)

[klingklang77]

I changed once at Frankfurt, but most of the time I just flew to Frankfurt (I lived there). There are some moving sidewalks, but sometimes you have to walk- A LOT. I have never had a long wait (knock on wood) on security there. It will probably take you about 15 mins to get to Terminal 2, but only if you are familiar with the airport. There is an airtrain that will take you to Terminal 2. I think you would probably need more than an hour.

Oh yeah, allow time to stop and have an Apfelwein .

[more adventurous]

Thanks for the insight, everyone.

GilliC and others, is it ridiculous to assume that they would hold the plane if there was a huge immigration hold up? I feel like I've read this before, but maybe not. Maybe it also depends on how many passengers they have held up there. It is a connecting flight by the same airline that I'm coming in on, if that makes a difference. Also, technically it will be an hour and 20 minutes between flights.

Vespasia Did you end up making your flight?

I did check the schedule for the day and are plenty of other flights later in the day, by the same carrier, so at least we would have a backup plan for the worst case scenario.

[Vespasia]

We did make our flight but it was close. Luckily our gate was right on the other side of security. We did not have time to use the restroom or buy snacks as the flight was well into boarding when we arrived.

[GilliC]

No, they won't hold the flight for immigration delays. The only time I've seen flights held for late passengers are when an incoming flight on the same airline is delayed and there are a significant number of connecting passengers at risk. In those cases it's easier for the airline to hold the second flight rather than rebooking all the connecting passengers.

And since Frankfurt is one of the bigger hubs, you're generally on your own. When I flew in through Lisbon, the line was insane, and they pretty much had staff calling out flight numbers and funneling those passengers into the crew/diplomat line, because the line was well over 30 minutes and there were so many connecting passengers stuck in it. I've never seen that in Frankfurt.

You can always play the "connecting flight" card and ask people to let you cut in the queue, but it's at the discretion of the other passengers. And it does generally annoy everyone.

[more adventurous]

May 1, 2014 7:30:14 GMT -5 GilliC said:

No, they won't hold the flight for immigration delays. The only time I've seen flights held for late passengers are when an incoming flight on the same airline is delayed and there are a significant number of connecting passengers at risk. In those cases it's easier for the airline to hold the second flight rather than rebooking all the connecting passengers.

And since Frankfurt is one of the bigger hubs, you're generally on your own. When I flew in through Lisbon, the line was insane, and they pretty much had staff calling out flight numbers and funneling those passengers into the crew/diplomat line, because the line was well over 30 minutes and there were so many connecting passengers stuck in it. I've never seen that in Frankfurt.

You can always play the "connecting flight" card and ask people to let you cut in the queue, but it's at the discretion of the other passengers. And it does generally annoy everyone.

Hmm, yeah, the whole thing sounds pretty stressful in general. It would be the same situation on our flight coming back, too. Both on Lufthansa. I guess I will keep searching to see if we can find anything a little better. Thanks for the insight!

[GilliC]

If both flights back are on Lufthansa, it probably wouldn't be as bad, because they'd both be in Terminal 1, and exit immigration tends to go pretty quickly. They don't have to scrutinize people's visas as much when they're leaving!

If there isn't anything better for a similar price, I'd just look at what kinds of onward flights there are later in the day. If there are more flights, it's probably not a huge deal if you miss the connection. They'll just put you on the next available flight.

I've missed various connections over the years due to flight delays, and as long as I wasn't on the last flight, I've always been able to make it out the same day.

If there aren't other comparable options, I would book it and just know that there was a risk of missing the connection. Try to sit near the front of the plane, move quickly as soon as you deplane to get ahead of the crowd, be ready for security, and have a change of clothes in your carry-on in case things get really screwed up and you're stuck overnight.

I have a very tough connection coming up when I fly to Brazil for the World Cup in June. I think I have barely an hour to get through the first of two connections. But the alternatives were either a much more expensive flight, or an out-of-the-way connection that would add an extra 8+ hours of travel time each way. I'm taking the gamble, and I'll get there eventually.

[travelingturtle]

If there are multiple flights leaving, why don't you just get one that leaves later? Or did I read this wrong?

[GilliC]

May 1, 2014 10:33:55 GMT -5 travelingturtle said:

If there are multiple flights leaving, why don't you just get one that leaves later? Or did I read this wrong?

A lot of the time switching a leg to a different flight can cost a lot more, because that flight leg is more fully booked.

But yeah, if there's a later connecting flight for the same price, that would be my choice every time.

(In my case, there is an earlier inbound flight that would give me a longer connection time, but the itinerary that uses that flight instead cost hundreds of dollars more.)

[more adventurous]

May 1, 2014 10:33:55 GMT -5 travelingturtle said:

If there are multiple flights leaving, why don't you just get one that leaves later? Or did I read this wrong?

Yeah, GilliC is correct. For some reason, all of the later connections seem to be quite a bit more expensive. I'm still going to search around a little more, but we're definitely on a budget. So, if we can't find something else reasonable then we'll probably just take our chances.

[aurora]

I'm not sure if you've already bought your tickets or not, but just in case you haven't I'll chime in to say I've flown through Frankfurt many times and have had both very fast and very slow experiences. It's one of the busiest airports in the world, so a lot depends on luck with respect to what happens to be going on at that time. I will say that I think it's pretty efficient and well-run, but any airport can be overwhelmed by too many people.

For what it's worth, there aren't nearly enough gates so if you connect through there on your way back (from Prague) you're likely to park on the tarmac and deplane into a bus that drives you to the main terminal, which adds quite a bit of time. Your flight to/from Texas probably won't do that since the big trans-Atlantic planes have dedicated gates.

[more adventurous]

May 2, 2014 15:32:11 GMT -5 aurora said:

I'm not sure if you've already bought your tickets or not, but just in case you haven't I'll chime in to say I've flown through Frankfurt many times and have had both very fast and very slow experiences. It's one of the busiest airports in the world, so a lot depends on luck with respect to what happens to be going on at that time. I will say that I think it's pretty efficient and well-run, but any airport can be overwhelmed by too many people.

For what it's worth, there aren't nearly enough gates so if you connect through there on your way back (from Prague) you're likely to park on the tarmac and deplane into a bus that drives you to the main terminal, which adds quite a bit of time. Your flight to/from Texas probably won't do that since the big trans-Atlantic planes have dedicated gates.

We haven't bought them yet, so thanks for chiming in. This makes me even more nervous about the flight back though! That one only has an hour and 5 minute layover. I'll definitely be scouring the flights to be sure there are plenty later in the day for that one. I imagine we'll be exhausted and ready to get home by then (and will most likely prefer to avoid hanging out waiting for the next flight for hours on end).