Frankfurt Airport

Came in on Delta from JFK & picked up a car. It was super easy to navigate, and I was out within 30min.

I had read reviews about the additional time needed & planned accordingly. I left my hotel 3.5hrs before my flight, to be sure I'd have plenty of time. Boy, did I have plenty of time. My return was also Delta, to DTW.

It took 5min to drive from the BW airport hotel, roughly 10min to turn in the car & about 10min to get to security checkpoint 1. Easy process there, they stamp your passport, and you're through part 1. This took -5min. The second checkpoint was equally as fast.
Then you lounge about til you're flight is called, about an hour before departure. The lounge area is comfy. There aren't a lot of store/dining options, but there are a few. We didn't go to any of them.
This was the final checkpoint & your access point to your actual gate. It moves quickly as this section is called one plane at a time.

My opinion is that if you fly Delta to JFK/ATL/DTW, 2hrs is sufficient, at least as currently set up. (Feb 2024)

This airport is huge. I've been here for layovers to other European cities and it is always so exhausting passing through here.

Coming from the US, once you've departed the plane you must go through immigration. Unlike the US where they literally lead you to the immigration counter, you must find this navigating on your own through the airport. There are tons of people to ask so definitely don't hesitate to do that or you will be walking forever.

If you need to transfer to a different concourse, beware of the long security lines you must re-enter through. They are long and slow moving so give yourself plenty of time before your scheduled flight. The staff manning these lines are not friendly and will not give you leniency if you are running late for your flight, so definitely check-in earlier than later.

The airport itself seems fairly modern. I've only been to Terminal 1, which is the international terminal. There are duty free shops plus high end shopping as well. There are snack kiosks dispersed throughout but not as many sit down restaurants.

For Lufthansa connecting flights, you usually need to board a bus (that is waiting at your gate) and they drive you to the plane. Note- you will have to walk down stairs to get to the bus and also walk up stairs to board the plane. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for walking but what's the point of having a gate when you can't even board the aircraft from there.

Overall, if this is a layover airport for you I highly recommend at minimum a 2 hour layover. Prepare to walk a ton, including up and down stairs upon arriving and departing your flights. Good luck!

Frankfurt Airport is pretty huge. Everything is far apart and it's a pretty long walk from one gate to the next. At gate A, it seems there's really only two sit down restaurants and a bunch of bakeries serving cold sammies and pretzels. There's not a huge variety. There's also only one Priority Pass lounge in Terminal 1, which I've read from reviews that it's not worth going to, so we decided to just skip it and opt for a leisurely lunch at Hausmann's since we had a 3.5 hour layover.

While the terminal looks clean, there are mouse traps everywhere, so that was a bit unsettling. Not the best airport but certainly not the worst.

I really like the Frankfurt airport. Everything you need and I mean everything. Very clean. Very organized. Excellent signs get you from gate to gate. Security is quick and very well organized. Be prepared to walk as this is a big airport.

Unstructured airport! The airport is huge and their is no tram or train to take you from one terminal to the next. You have to take bus to go to different terminals which needs ample time. The average time to connect to your transfer flight at least give two or more hours. Once you enter the terminal your dining choices are very limited you have about two small bar & cafe for you meals.
The seats at the terminals does not have USB or power to charge your gadgets... so disappointed.
Also, the airport starts to show its age. As I took flight from Istanbul, Turkey airport to Frankfurt in comparison the Turkey airport is very modern and well organized.

The Frankfurt airport is one of the larger airports in the world. But it is extremely disorganized and even for passengers in transit (not entering Europe), they have to jump through unnecessary security hoops. Time between gates can take up to 45-50 mins so tight connections are not advisable. Lots of linear space. The design of the airport makes it unnecessarily difficult to navigate.

On the positive side, they do have a lot of lounges and security is usually a breeze. Lots of shops, etc.

This was a decent place for a layover, but kind of old fashioned and dark. Now that I've had the chance to travel around the world, it is amazing to compare and contrast the locations. I think if you're traveling in Europe it's probably easy to navigate but as an international traveler it's rather difficult to follow the rather poor signage to figure out how you're supposed to go next. I ended up having to ask someone, which is fine, but typically not needed in most airports. Anyway, it wasn't too much of a bother or anything, just by other airport standards it's strange that it doesn't add up.

I was at terminal 1 and it was small and easy to navigate. I like how there were pods and a free lounge area to sit/ nap and a place to charge my phone. There are some cool restaurants and gift shops

The shuttle bus to other terminals was not running so we had to exit. Going through security/ customs was easy and speedy. We have to provide our passport, COVID vaccination card, and reason and length of our stay.

I didn't like how all the bathrooms were wet and dirty. Theres no AC in the airport so it was also a bit muggy.

There's also an indoor smoking lounge but the smell seeped through.

There wasn't enough seats in the lounge area and not all the outlets worked.

I've always asked myself how to review an airport. I look around it from the smoothness of the checkin, security, and boarding process. I have flown into Frankfurt several times and have always had a good experience. The security checkpoints are smooth and give plenty of notice on what is expected of you. Provided you pay attention! The inbound and outbound flight boards are updated regularly for updates on your flight. The PA system also announces in different languages in case you don't speak German. There are also plenty of restaurants and shops to pass the time. There are also play areas for little ones to keep them occupied!

The absolutely most unorganized airport I've ever traveled through - and I've been traveling internationally for 5 decades. I will do everything possible not to ever go through Frankfurt again.

The America Airlines 'team' was unfriendly. Getting through 3 security checkpoints to get to the gate - having everyone leave the gate so they could rescan everything because no one was stationed at the gate.

Then finding out we are going to get on a bus - to get to our plane and have to go up/down multiple flights of stairs.

I'm bewildered.