World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Flughafen Frankfurt/Main (FRA)
Tel: (069) 6900. Fax: (069) 6907 0081.
E-mail: info@frankfurt-airport.de
Website: www.frankfurt-airport.de

Frankfurt Main airport is located 12 kilometres (eight miles) southwest of the city centre. It is the largest airport in continental Europe, handling more than 40,000 flights from 110 airlines every week and serving over 290 destinations in 109 countries. It is a major European transport hub alongside London, Paris and Amsterdam. Terminals one (concourses A, B and C) and two (D and E) are linked by free Skyline shuttle trains. The airport is all set for expansion, which will include landing runways to the north and a takeoff and landing runway to the south. Work is due to start in 2004 and is expected to be operational in 2006.

Major airlines: The national airline is Lufthansa (tel: (069) 6960 (local); (01805) 838 4267 (national); website: www.lufthansa.de). Major airlines include Air France, Alitalia, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, KLM, Qantas, SAS, South African Airways and Turkish Airlines.

Airport facilities: Numerous banks, bureaux de change and ATMs are available in both terminals and in the Frankfurt Airport Centre (FAC1). The airport facilities include travel agencies, shops, duty-free outlets, restaurants, bars, pharmacies and post offices (mostly located in terminal one). 3C Communications provide 24-hour credit card telephones, faxes and Internet access. Both terminals have an Airport Gallery featuring exhibitions on aviation, travel and art. Car hire is available from Alamo, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt offices in each terminal.

Business facilities: The Airport Conference Centre, FAC1 (tel: (069) 6907 0500; fax: (069) 6907 0515; e-mail: acc-reservierung@fraport.de; website: www.acc-frankfurt.de), offers 23 conference rooms (open Monday to Friday 0700-2130, Saturday 0900-1800 and by appointment) with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment, Internet access, video-conferencing, secretarial services, interpreters and office supplies. There are also conference rooms available to rent in terminal two. Many of the major airlines also have executive lounges.

Transport to the city: The airport has two railway stations and one bus terminal. Deutsche Bahn (tel: 11861 or (0800) 150 7090 or (01805) 194 195; website: www.bahn.de) city trains (S-Bahn) run to the main railway station (Hauptbahnhof) every 15 minutes (0429-0044) from platforms one to three of Frankfurt Airport station (journey time – 10 minutes). The fare is 3.20. Tickets must be purchased beforehand at the blue RMV ticket machines (select ‘Einzelfahrt Frankfurt’). There are also local trains to Mainz, Wiesbaden and other destinations. Night trains run after 0030. ICE, InterCity and EuroCity trains to national and international destinations depart from platforms four to seven, at the new AIRail Terminal (see Getting There By Rail).

The bus terminal is situated in front of the terminal one arrivals hall. The public bus 61 for Frankfurt Sdbahnhof runs daily 0554-2354, every 20-30 minutes. Hotels often arrange a free shuttle service for their guests, but taxis are readily available outside both terminals – the journey to the city centre costs about 20 (journey time – 20-30 minutes).

Frankfurth Hahn (HHN)
Tel: (06543) 509 200. Fax: (06543) 509 204.
E-mail: info@hahn-airport.de
Website: www.hahn-airport.de

Frankfurt Hahn airport is located 120km (75 miles) west of Frankfurt, in the Hunsrck area. The airport handles both freight and passengers, serving as a hub for budget airline Ryanair with daily flights to destinations throughout Europe. Its expansion over the past few years, despite the general downturn in worldwide air travel, has been significant and rapid.

Major airlines: Budget airline Ryanair (tel: (0190) 669 900, Germany; website: www.ryanair.com) provides direct flights to Bournemouth, Glasgow Prestwick, London Stansted, Milano Bergamo, Bologna, Girona (Barcelona), Montpelier, Oslo Torp, Perpignan, Pescara, Pisa, Rome Ciampino, Shannon and Stockholm. Other airlines include LTU and Pegasus Airlines.

Airport facilities: Facilities include duty free, three bistros, a restaurant, bars, shops, telephones, a travel agent, newsagent, ATMs, a hairdresser, art gallery and petrol station. Car hire is available from Hertz and Sixt.

Business facilities: The Steigenberger Seminare Center (tel: (06543) 509 730 or (01805) 237 137 (bookings); fax: (06543) 509 735 or (069) 6656 4704/5 (bookings)) has 16 function rooms accommodating from two to 100 delegates, all equipped with modern facilities.

Transport to the city: There is a direct bus service operated by Bohr Omnibusse (tel: (06543) 50190; e-mail: info@bohr-omnibusse.de; website: www.bohr-omnibusse.de), which runs from Hahn airport to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (journey time – 1 hour 45 minutes), stopping at Frankfurt Main airport. Buses depart from in front of the terminal building daily 0345-2245. A single ticket costs 11. Taxis are available in front of the terminal building and a trip into Frankfurt costs approximately 80.

Approximate flight times to Frankfurt: From London is 1 hour 30 minutes; from New York is 7 hours 15 minutes; from Los Angeles is 14 hours 50 minutes; from Toronto is 7 hours 20 minutes and from Sydney is 25 hours.

Arrival/departure tax: There is an international passenger service charge of 15.51 and an airport security charge of 5.71. These are included in the price of the ticket.