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Frankfurt International Airport


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Frankfurt International Airport (German: Rhein-Main-Flughafen or Flughafen Frankfurt am Main) is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is the largest airport in Germany and the second or third-largest in Europe (depending which data are used), serving as an important hub for international flights from around the world. It is run by Fraport AG.

Frankfurt International is a hub of Lufthansa, the German flag carrier. Because of undercapacity in Frankfurt, Lufthansa divides traffic between Frankfurt and Munich's Franz Josef Strauß International Airport when possible.

Frankfurt International currently serves more destinations than London's Heathrow International Airport, but in terms of passenger traffic Frankfurt International is still in second place compared to London Heathrow Airport (in a tie with Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport). Passenger traffic at Frankfurt International Airport in 2003 was 48,351,664, while at Heathrow Airport it was 63,487,136, and at Charles de Gaulle Airport 48,220,436. In terms of plane movements, Frankfurt was third with 458,865 planes, behind number one Charles de Gaulle Airport (515,025), and number two Heathrow (463,650). In terms of cargo traffic, Frankfurt was second with 1,650,476 metric tonnes (1,819,338 US tons), just behind Charles de Gaulle Airport (1,723,700 metric tonnes), but above Heathrow (1,300,420 metric tonnes).

Paris' Charles de Gaulle International Airport may definitely leave Frankfurt airport behind in the near future, as it is designed to be expandable, unlike Frankfurt which is surrounded by towns and developed areas. Nevertheless there are plans to expand Frankfurt Airport with an additional runway, and to modify the airport to be able to service the new Airbus A-380 plane.

Contents

History

The Rhine-Main Airport and Airship Base opened in 1936, and was the second-largest airport in Germany (after Tempelhof Airport in Berlin) through World War II. After the war, it served as the main West German operations base for the Berlin Airlift.

In 1969, Ariana Flight 701 , a Boeing 727 of Ariana Afghan Airlines was arriving to London Gatwick Airport near London, United Kingdom from Frankfurt International when it crashed into a house, killing 50 of the 66 persons aboard. Two people died on the ground.

The airport did not emerge as a major international hub until 1972, when its new passenger terminal (now Terminal 1) opened.

Structure and function

Frankfurt Airport has two passenger terminals, which are connected by corridors as well as by people mover and bus.

Terminal 1

Terminal 1 opened on March 14th, 1972. It was designed in a modern style for the period, with polished silver interiors and corrugated walls. It is divided into three concourses.

Concourse A

Concourse B

Concourse C

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 opened on October 24th, 1994. It is designed to resemble a classical railway station from its landside facade. It is divided into two concourses.

Concourse D

Concourse E

Other features

Frankfurt has two cargo terminals, North and South, as well as a separate General Aviation Terminal on the south side of the airport. There is also a Sheraton hotel adjacent to Terminal 1.

Ground transportation

Deutsche Bahn operates the AiRail Service in conjunction with Lufthansa, American Airlines, and Emirates. The service operates to Bonn Rail Station in Bonn, Cologne Rail Station in Cologne, Düsseldorf Rail Station in Düsseldorf, Freiburg Rail Station in Freiburg, Hamburg Rail Station in Hamburg, Hanover Rail Station in Hanover, Mannheim Rail Station in Mannheim, HBF Railway Station in Munich, Nuremberg Rail Station in Nuremberg, and Stuttgart Rail Station in Stuttgart, Germany. Trains depart adjacent to Terminal 1.

The airport is located adjacent to the A3 and A5 Autobahn: taxis to the city center cost approximately 20 euro.

A S-Bahn connection to Frankfurt is available; it costs about €4. Trains take 12 minutes to reach Frankfurt central stations and depart roughly every 15 minutes on weekdays at the regional transtation underneath Terminal 1.

Finally, various companies provide bus services to the airport.

External links

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