Catch a Wave Before You Catch a Flight This Summer at Munich Airport

For the fifth year in a row, Munich Airport’s Surf & Style event allows locals and passengers alike to hang ten without heading to the beach.

This summer, the surf is once again up at Munich Airport (MUC). For the fifth year in a row, the airport will host Surf & Style, an event which sees the courtyard between Terminal 1 and 2 turned into one huge pool. From July 31 through August 23, travelers and locals alike will have the chance to surf on the world’s biggest artificial standing wave.

Throughout the event, visitors can take advantage of free surfing between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. Gear — including boards, wetsuits and helmets — is complimentary upon presentation of valid ID, and up to 10 surfers can ride the wave at a time.

Instructors will be on hand to offer tips and encouragement for first-time surfers at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. sessions for beginners, during which a bar will be placed across the giant wave for added support. Surf & Style will also host a kids’ camp. Each camp registration is valid for three days, with a single one-hour sessions every day.

All potential surfers can register for surfing time slots two days ahead but, due to the popularity of Surf & Style, participants will be selected by a draw. Registration opens on July 29 and participants will be allocated one slot per day.

But as in past years, the showpiece of this year’s Surf & Style will be the European Championship in Stationary Wave Riding. Held from August 14 to 16, this competition sees the “urban surfers” of Munich taking on elite river surfers from around the world.

According to Markus Preiss, MUC Marketing Manager for Commercial Activities, the event is extremely popular. As he explained to USA Today, each year since Surf & Style’s inception, “about 4,000 guests, locals and passengers alike, go for the wave.”

[Photo: Munich Airport]