During my Four Seasons Yacht via Turkmenistan and Saudi Arabia adventure, I had the chance to check out the new Frankfurt Airport (FRA) Terminal 3, prior to my Turkmenistan Airlines flight to Ashgabat (ASB). Before that flight, I visited the Priority Lounge in the non-Schengen area of Frankfurt Terminal 3, which is the primary contract and Priority Pass lounge there.
While I don’t want to suggest that it’s the world’s most exciting lounge, it’s actually a really good Priority Pass lounge. The lounge is large, has beautiful views, is modern, and has a solid selection of food and drinks, along with some cool amenities. This is a huge improvement over anything you would’ve found in the old Terminal 2.
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Priority Lounge Frankfurt location
The Priority Lounge is located in Frankfurt Airport Terminal 3. Let me emphasize that this is on a completely different side of the airport of Terminal 1, and there’s no airside connection, so only expect to use this lounge if you’re departing from that terminal (which is where most non-Star Alliance airlines depart from).
The lounge is located in the non-Schengen area of the terminal, so visiting requires first going through the check-in area, then clearing security, and then clearing passport control.
Once airside, you’ll find yourself in the central area of the terminal, so turn left in the direction of the J gates. You’ll also find signage for lounges pointing in that direction.
Right before you get to the area with the J gates, you’ll see an escalator and elevator on the left leading up to the lounges.
The terminal is on level three, and in terms of lounges:
- The SkyTeam Lounge is on level four (it’s only open to Priority Pass members if traveling on a SkyTeam airline), and the future Qatar Airways Lounge will also be located on level four
- The Emirates Lounge (one of Emirates’ first new-style lounges) is located on level five, as is the Priority Lounge
So to get to the Priority Lounge, you need to go up two sets of escalators.
On level five there’s then a long hall leading to the lounges, with the Emirates Lounge being the first, and the Priority Lounge being at the end of the hallway.
Priority Lounge Frankfurt hours
The Priority Lounge Frankfurt is currently open daily from 6:15AM until 9:15PM, so that covers virtually all departures from the terminal. Expect that the hours may change over time, so be sure to always check the Priority Pass website for up to date hours.
Priority Lounge Frankfurt entry requirements
The Priority Lounge Frankfurt acts as the primary contract lounge for Terminal 3. So it’s a lounge that many airlines contract with for their premium passengers — if you’re in a premium cabin and have a flight on a non-SkyTeam flight or non-Emirates flight, expect that you’ll be sent here. Side note — Turkmenistan Airlines doesn’t offer lounge access at outstations, so that’s not how I entered this lounge.
Beyond that, the Priority Lounge belongs to most lounge networks, including Priority Pass. Priority Pass members can visit the lounge for a maximum of three hours.
Priority Lounge Frankfurt seating & layout
The Priority Lounge Frankfurt is a great size — while I haven’t seen the size or capacity published anywhere, I can’t imagine it ever gets overcrowded, especially thanks to the “secret” part of this lounge, which most people don’t realize exists.
The primary part of the lounge consists of one huge room, with floor-to-ceiling windows stretching the entire space, which sure is nice. The lounge has modern furniture, and this room is broken up into separate zones.
How nice are these views? And hello Turkmenistan Airlines 777!!!
As you first enter the lounge, there are some semi-private seats arranged in clusters, probably the ideal place to sit if you just want to relax, but aren’t looking to eat or drink.
Deeper into the lounge is the dining area, with a bunch of cafe-style tables.
Then there are also some more traditional seating clusters set up, with couches, chairs with tables, etc.
Here’s what I found most interesting — in the very back of the lounge there was a hallway with a small sign pointing to the “Exclusive Lounge,” which guests were invited to use.
This was a huge lounge space as well, and there wasn’t a single person in the space during my visit (despite the lounge otherwise being fairly full). Obviously people just don’t realize this exists, though in fairness, it also doesn’t have much in the way of natural light.
I’m curious if this is the long term plan, if this is going to be some sort of separate lounge, if it’s maybe reserved for passengers on select airlines over select hours, or what. Either way, it’s a tradeoff between having a very private space and natural light.
I should mention that the lounge also has a relaxation area with some reclined seats, though there were people using them throughout my visit, so I couldn’t get a picture. The lounge also has some hotel-style bedrooms (as I understand it) that guests can rent, though they weren’t available during my visit, so I can’t speak to the quality.
Priority Lounge Frankfurt food & drinks
The Priority Lounge Frankfurt has a respectable selection of food and drinks. There’s one main buffet area in the center of the lounge, which is where you’ll find most of what’s available.
In terms of food, options included a salad bar, instant noodles, and several hot dishes, including baked beans, vegetables, chicken, rice, stir fried noodles, soup, and more.
Additional options included bread, finger sandwiches, sausages, snack mix, sweets, and brownies.
There were also a variety of drinks, including self-serve beer, wine, liquor, a soda fountain, coffee, tea, etc.
There was then a second buffet in the “Exclusive Lounge” that was nearly identical to the main one, expect it seemed like no one had visited this at any point, given the lack of traffic this part of the lounge gets.
Priority Lounge Frankfurt bathrooms & showers
The Priority Lounge Frankfurt has fairly limited bathroom facilities, given the large size of the lounge. The men’s room had a few sinks, plus several urinals and stalls. They seemed to be reasonably well maintained.
The lounge also has shower suites, but none were available to see during my brief visit.
Bottom line
The Priority Lounge Frankfurt Terminal 3 is a great new addition to the airport’s lounge scene. It’s the primary contract lounge in Terminal 3, and a massive improvement over the old lounge setup in Terminal 2. The lounge is modern, bright, and has plenty of seating options, with a solid food and drink selection.
It’s nice to see the lounge situation at Frankfurt Airport improve, though there continues to be no airside Priority Pass lounge in Terminal 1, which is sort of unfortunate.
What’s your take on the Priority Lounge Frankfurt?
I was here a few weeks ago and was not even aware of the extra space.
The food was similar but the lounge was busier. The crews had problems replenishing dishes and utensils. I left shortly after having something to eat. It was another poor lounge here in Germany. ONEWORLD and Star Alliance need to build their lounges here with stronger food and beverage offering. Please hire more staffs to do basic cleaning.
Good attention to detail and food . Infinitely better than any NYC-Newark lounge or the NYC subway . Going to Turkmenistan or Afghanistan would require this lounge , for the traveler to reflect on his folly of going to any "stan" country .