Located in the heart of Europe and serving more than 1350 flights per day, Frankfurt Airport not only connects Europe to the rest of the world, but also is the perfect place to start your next trip within Europe. With four runaways, two main passenger terminals, where more than 105 different airlines operate, a First Class terminal for VIP´s and a third terminal under construction, this airport is the 4th busiest airport in Europe and the largest cargo airport in the world. Last week China Airlines let me walk behind the counters to show you how the airport works and how this airline operates connecting Europe and Asia.
The two main passenger terminals are divided into concourses A, B, C, D, E and Z. While terminal 1 mostly serves Lufthansa and its airline partners, terminal 2 is mainly used by One World and Sky Team airlines. Frankfurt Airport also offers many facilities and services for passengers and visitors. Its long distance train station has a supermarket, a convention center, a Hilton hotel and even check-in counters for passengers in a hurry and this is just the beginning! With more than 100 stores, an airport city mall, a flight simulator and even a casino, you won´t need a flight ticket to forget your “fernweh”.
The connecting gates have a lot to offer to passengers waiting for their next flight: with 18 lounges for Economy and Business passengers, showers, rest zones, dozens of duty free shops and many restaurants with local and exotic tastes, your only worry will be what kind of sauce you would like for your schnitzel.
Behind the counters everything works like a Swiss watch: As planes depart almost every two minutes, punctuality and precision are key to keeping this massive airport working 24/7. Frankfurt Airport even offers tours to give visitors a feeling for what it’s like to be in the middle of the action.
China Airlines let me visit their newest Boeing 777-300ER, which flies from Frankfurt to Taipei – a 13-hour 20 minutes’ flight directly connecting the two metropolis and a perfect way to start an adventure in China or South East Asia. With daily flights from June 2016, this aircraft is a small part of Taiwan in Germany.
During the visit I had the chance to see live, how the airport team cleans and prepares the airplane for its next flight. A team of at least five workers collects almost three big plastic bags of trash making the airplane look like fresh from the factory again in just 15-20 min, while another team checks the system and technical details of the plane – everything so swift and fast that I even had a couple of minutes afterwards to take a rest in the unique and design award winner business class section.
It is amazing to see how much work and effort is behind every flight you take and, although at the end of the day I wasn´t flying in one of these airplanes, I got a great overview how such a big airport helps connecting the world.
