Frankfurt Airport (FRA) recently saw the opening of the new Terminal 3. This is something I was excited about — Frankfurt is my most frequented international airport, since my family is from the area, so it’s an airport I have a love-hate relationship with.
I mean, Frankfurt Airport is kind of terrible, except the Lufthansa First Class Terminal, but there’s a certain charm to all of it, maybe partly because of the extent to which it reminds me of my childhood. So I was pleased to see the recent opening of the airport’s first new terminal since I was a toddler.
During my current trip, I had the chance to fly out of Terminal 3, prior to my Turkmenistan Airlines flight to Ashgabat (ASB). While it was the flight I was most looking forward to (who wouldn’t?!), getting to experience the new terminal was also cool to me.
I’ve gotta say, among new terminals at global airports, this has to be one of the more unmemorable ones we’ve seen in quite some time. Ultimately it’s modern (in a very sterile and minimalist way), but at least it’s better than the old one? Will, minus the location…
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Frankfurt Airport Terminal 3: at least it’s not Terminal 2?
About the best thing I can say about the new Terminal 3 is that it’s at least better than the old Terminal 2, which it replaces. In fairness, Terminal 2 was awful, so that’s not saying a whole lot.
The first thing you’ll notice about Terminal 3 is what a pain it is to get to. It’s located on the opposite side of the airport of Terminal 1. So if you arrive at the airport via train, you first have to take an additional roughly 10-minute SkyLine ride just to arrive at the terminal.
While minor, can I just point out how “bumpy” and fast that little train thing moves? I can’t imagine how many people are going to fall in this thing, given how much it bounces and how abruptly it accelerates, with everyone standing and holding onto their luggage.
Once I actually arrived in the terminal, I found the design to be… well, a mixed bag. On the plus side, the terminal has high ceilings and feels rather “grand” in some areas. At the same time, the design is very minimalist. Like, most of the terminal has an exposed view into wiring and all the equipment above the ceiling.
The check-in area is one, large rectangular hall, and then the security checkpoints are just beyond that.
Once airside, the central area that connects the piers has nice aesthetics, though also lacks natural light (probably a blessing in Frankfurt, so that you can not be reminded of how bad the weather is).
Gates then extend out to a few different piers, each of which are just long, straight halls. Admittedly I departed from the last possible gate, but it was quite a long walk to get there. While there are moving sidewalks, there are big gaps between them.
To be clear, I love walking and don’t mind getting steps, but for those who have any sort of mobility challenges, getting to your gate is quite the adventure, especially if you were originating at the train station. I suppose that’s true in Terminal 1 as well, though. 😉 
The actual central walkway to gates lacks natural light and is fairly narrow, and that’s because there are businesses and other facilities on each side. Then the actual gate seating is past that, and it’s where you’ll find floor-to-ceiling windows.
What’s also worth pointing out is that Lufthansa doesn’t use this terminal, so there’s very little connecting traffic here. As a result, the passenger flows are very different than in Terminal 1, since most travelers are moving in one direction.
The Frankfurt Airport Terminal 3 lounge situation is decent
Perhaps the best part of the new Frankfurt Terminal 3 is the lounge situation. I was only able to visit the Priority Lounge, which is the non-Schengen contract and Priority Pass lounge. It’s nothing earth shattering, but it’s much better than in the old Terminal 2.
The lounge has incredible views, and is quite large, with a whole room in the back that nobody seems to know exists.
Then Emirates also debuted its new lounge concept at the airport, and Qatar Airways is expected to soon open two lounges in the terminal, which will be fantastic for oneworld flyers.
So from a passenger experience standpoint, I think that’s the most exciting aspect of this new terminal. The Terminal 2 lounge situation was getting to be pretty dire.
Bottom line
Frankfurt Airport’s new Terminal 3 is finally open, and I had the chance to check it out. The new terminal is an improvement over the old Terminal 2 in terms of design, capacity, and facilities. The catch is that it’s inconvenient to get to (for most), and it’s also rather unremarkable in terms of design.
Ultimately there’s nothing wrong with that. Heck, for Germany, I guess it’s kind of predictable, as my impression of the new (at the time) Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) was largely similar. It’s just that we see so many airports go for a “wow” factor with their new terminals — just take Portland Airport (PDX) as an example — so this is quite unexciting, by comparison.
What do you make of the new FRA Terminal 3?
It looks like an EDITION hotel
Looks a lot like AMS Schiphol. There also travel times to a gate are long, escalators are often broken down and the aestetics are quite simular. I would have expected that a new terminsl would be a step up, but this does not seem to be the case. Shame.
I got to experience Terminal 3 in June and was quite excited to see and experience it, just with most new things. Well, there were pros and cons. One thing you also mentioned: the quite long piers with relatively long gaps between the moving walks. Of course, a little walking doesn't hurt ... except it hurts sometimes. Hips don't lie and mine hurt.
Not only that they could be a bit closer to each...
I got to experience Terminal 3 in June and was quite excited to see and experience it, just with most new things. Well, there were pros and cons. One thing you also mentioned: the quite long piers with relatively long gaps between the moving walks. Of course, a little walking doesn't hurt ... except it hurts sometimes. Hips don't lie and mine hurt.
Not only that they could be a bit closer to each other, but also only half of them were working.
When we were there we flew with British Airways and I wasn't aware that they open check-in no earlier than like 2 or 2 1/2 hours before their flight. We were there way before that mark and there were only very few seats in the checkin hall.
What I also didn't understand was something which was not inconvenient for us passengers but for the staff working check-in (or bag drop). Why on earth did they install stuff the American way? In Terminal 2, decades old, you put your bag on a scale, the agent then pushed a button and the bag moved towards them so they could attach the bag tag. Then another push of a button and the bag was sent off towards its mysterious path.
And now in a brand new facility? You put your bag on the scale. Then the agent attaches the bag tag and another worker lifts the bag and carries it to the conveyor belt. Huh? Just like in American airports. There was a very convenient way how to do it and they return to 19th century technology?
But you're right the priority pass lounge is way nicer than the one in terminal 2.
Ben, thanks for the update. What about the new train they have been working on for a couple years? Is that up and running? Nice to see these improvements in FRA.
@Mike, yes it is up and running. It's the one, Lucky was talking about. I didn't get to experience it so I can't talk about those abrupt maneuvers. When we were there the train was temporarily out of service and shuttle buses were taking us to/from. But a few days after our return from London the train resumed its operation.