Frankfurt · Germany
FRA — Frankfurt Airport
Two terminals, long walks, and two separate railway stations
Frankfurt is one of Europe's largest transfer airports and one of its more demanding. Two terminals are connected by a people mover and shuttle buses, the piers inside them are long, and non-Schengen passport control adds a step that catches people out on a short connection.
It is entirely manageable with time, and the rail connections are excellent — two separate stations sit under the airport, one for local trains and one for long-distance services across Germany. The mistake is treating a Frankfurt connection as equivalent to one at a smaller hub.
Terminals and how they connect
Terminal 1
The larger and older terminal, divided into concourses A, B, C and Z. Handles the main hub carrier and most of its alliance partners. The concourses are long and the walks inside are substantial.
Terminal 2
Concourses D and E, used by many non-alliance and other international carriers. Smaller and generally calmer than Terminal 1.
Getting between them
The Skyline people mover runs airside between the terminals, with shuttle buses as the landside alternative. Neither is instant, and a terminal change should be planned for rather than assumed.
Two railway stations
The regional station sits under Terminal 1 for local and S-Bahn services. The long-distance station is a separate building reached by a walkway, serving high-speed trains across Germany.
Getting into Frankfurt
Times below are realistic ranges rather than best cases. Rail journeys keep to a timetable; road journeys do not, and treating the two the same is how people miss flights.
S-Bahn regional train
About 15 minutes to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof
From the regional station beneath Terminal 1, running frequently. The fastest and cheapest way into the city by a clear margin.
Long-distance train
Varies by destination
The separate long-distance station connects the airport directly to Cologne, Munich, Hamburg and beyond. For many German destinations this beats a connecting flight outright.
Taxi
20 to 40 minutes
Straightforward but considerably more expensive than the train for a journey the S-Bahn does in fifteen minutes.
Connecting through FRA
Frankfurt rewards a longer connection. A change within one terminal concourse is fine; a change between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, or between Schengen and non-Schengen areas, needs materially more time than the published minimum. Some departures also board by bus from a remote stand, which adds a further step. If you have a choice between a Frankfurt connection and one at Munich or Zurich at a similar price, the smaller hub is usually the easier journey.
Worth knowing before you fly
The two stations are not the same place
Regional trains leave from beneath Terminal 1; long-distance services leave from a separate building. Arriving at the wrong one with a booked seat on a high-speed train is a real risk.
Allow for non-Schengen passport control
Connections crossing the Schengen boundary involve a border check, and at peak times the queue is not trivial. This is the step that turns a comfortable connection into a tight one.
Remote stands are common
A bus to the aircraft is a normal part of a Frankfurt departure. Work to the boarding time on the pass rather than the departure time.
Terminal assignments, transit timetables and fares all change. Confirm the details that matter to your trip with the airport or transport operator before you travel.
What a delay or cancellation out of Frankfurt is worth
Regulation (EC) No 261/2004Owed once you reach your final destination 3 hours or more late, and not owed at all where the airline proves extraordinary circumstances.
| Flight distance | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | €250 |
| 1,500 to 3,500 km, and also any intra-EU flight longer than 1,500 km however far it goes | €400 |
| Over 3,500 km | €600 |
The airline may cut these by 50% if it re-routes you and you land within two hours of your original arrival on a short flight, three on a medium one, or four on a long one. Article 7(2), and the reason a long-haul delay is sometimes quoted at half the headline figure.
Court of Justice case law
Regulation 261/2004 awards compensation for cancellation and denied boarding. Article 6 covers delay with care rather than money, and the right to be paid for a three-hour arrival delay comes from the Court of Justice in Sturgeon (joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07), reaffirmed in Nelson (C-581/10). Binding, and worth citing by name, but not a line you will find in the regulation.
Read the sourceWhat they owe you while you wait, whatever the cause
Extraordinary circumstances — weather, an air traffic control strike, a bird strike — let the airline off the compensation. They do not touch this. In McDonagh v Ryanair the Court held the duty to look after you has no time limit and no cash ceiling, so a volcano does not end it. If a gate agent tells you a weather delay means no meal and no hotel, that is wrong.
- After 2 hours on flights up to 1,500 km, 3 hours on medium ones, 4 hours on long ones
- Meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the wait, plus two free calls, messages or emails.
- After Once departure slips to the next day
- Hotel accommodation and transport between the airport and it, at the airline's cost.
- After 5 hours
- You may abandon the trip and take a full refund instead of waiting it out.
If your flight through FRA is cancelled or badly delayed
Where the US rules still reach your ticket
FRA is outside the United States, so the US Department of Transportation rules we publish do not govern a departure from here on their own — they reach your itinerary when it touches the US. The regime that governs a departure from here is set out above, and it pays for the disruption itself rather than merely refunding the fare. It matters on a transatlantic ticket that both reach you: fly into the US and the DOT refund right applies to that leg as well, which is a second claim rather than an alternative to the first.
Stated plainly because the alternative is worse: a page that quoted a § 259.5 commitment at somebody departing Frankfurt would be inventing a right they do not have, and they would find that out at the desk. The same discipline runs the other way — we do not put a euro figure on a sterling regime, or a sterling one on a euro regime.
Airlines based at FRA
Carriers based here, which usually means more non-stops and more daily frequencies to fall back on if something goes wrong.
Routes through FRA
Flying to Frankfurt
Stuck on hold?
Talk to an independent agent instead
Airline phone queues and chatbots are where a rebooking stalls. Our agents work these routes daily and will look at what is actually available, walk through the letter you are about to send, and tell you what a desk agent will and will not do. We are not the airline and we do not file claims for you — the templates above are yours to send.
FAQ
FRA — common questions
Terminals, transfers and getting into the city.
How much time do I need to connect at Frankfurt?
More than at a smaller hub. Within a single terminal concourse a standard connection is workable, but a change between Terminals 1 and 2, or a crossing of the Schengen boundary, needs considerably longer than the published minimum. Add further time if either flight boards from a remote stand by bus, which is common here.
How do I get from Frankfurt Airport into the city?
The S-Bahn from the regional station beneath Terminal 1 reaches Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof in about fifteen minutes and is cheap and frequent. Note that the airport has a second, separate station for long-distance high-speed trains, so check which one your ticket is for before walking to a platform.
Is Frankfurt or Munich better for connecting?
Munich, in most cases. It is smaller, newer and laid out more compactly, so transfers are faster and less prone to going wrong. Frankfurt serves more destinations and has better long-distance rail links, but connections there involve longer walks, more frequent passport checks and a higher chance of a bus to a remote stand.
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