Crampedin13A

Couldn't find a recent thread on flying BA from FRA. It's been at least 5 years since I've used BA to LHR from FRA and was wondering what FRA T2 is like in 2022. Is it still security at the gate area and is the Sakura lounge worth visiting? It was a bit underwhelming the last few times I used it.

Genius1

Security is still at the gate (shared between several gates). BA very often (always when I've visited, most recently July) use a bus gate. The JL Sakura lounge is surprisingly basic, and often crowded as the only oneworld option. Their First Class lounge is still closed.

Fatdickie

Thanks for that also

I'm arriving there on Thurs 8th December and departing Sunday11th, so any info is appreciated

LondonLondon

The terminal is still very quiet. The JAL first class lounge reopened at the start of October. Food is the same as in the business class section, sadly more European than the Japanese options available before the pandemic. The staff were very friendly though.

Deltus

Frankfurt T2 is a mess - will not be in a hurry to go back! On arrival, the "All Passports" immigration queue took about 45 minutes, because they only had 2 manned desks operating (and of course they've disabled UK passports from the automated machines that had no queue at all). Think this is some sort of deliberate post-Brexit German banter, from the comments of the border official when I did eventually get to the front.

On departure, JAL lounge is fine, plenty of space on a Sunday evening, good food and drink options. That's it in terms of positives for Frankfurt though.

The security process was seemingly designed by someone who has never used an airport: one security area served ~4 gates, which had both a BA A321 and a Vistara B789 departing. For some reason all the Vistara passengers were already going through security despite it being almost 2 hours until their scheduled departure time (and nothing but chairs to entertain you after security). The "priority" queue took about 20 minutes, I'd imagine the other queue took at least double that. Each security lane only had space for one person at a time to load their trays, so the inevitable epiphanies about liquids rules delayed the entire queue.

And then the gate area was totally unstaffed, so everyone just wandered in straight past the BP-check desk and found a seat. Then 40 minutes before scheduled departure, we were all told to leave the gate area again, queue up for a BP scan (but not a passport check) and then come back in. Except the gate agents forgot to shut the door at the top of the jetbridge, so as soon as people got back in to the seating area after their BP scan, they walked straight down the jetbridge to the aircraft, where the surprised cabin crew told everyone to wait for another 10 minutes. My passport was never checked by anyone apart from the German border force (who weren't interested in my boarding pass), which I'd assume breaches some sort of security rule.

Is this standard procedure for Frankfurt, or did we just get a team doing their first ever shift in the job?

BOH

I have also not flown through Frankfurt for almost 5 years now. Amazed to read the comments above, some 5 years on the same issues are still there regarding security at the gate. The worse thing I found was that only one pax at a time could be unpacking their bag of liquids / laptop etc so the queues take forever, it was just so inefficient. Plus the security staff have to be some of the rudest and unhelpful around, my memory is them constantly standing around chatting.

Arriving today on BA into FRA and back home tomorrow. Looks like I better allow an extra hour for this.

corporate-wage-slave

They made a few bluncers here. Due to FRA's layout and reputation, people end up going through security and to the gate seating area way before the ground handling staff have arrived, and as you see the seating reflects around the gate to airbridge/bus route. No easy solutions to this since the gate are also the check-in staff, so until 1 hour to departure they have to be on the check-in desk, then it's not much faster for them to get through security than passengers. Consequently they will be at the gate perhaps 30 minutes to departure, and fairly close to boarding, by which stage the gate is filled with passengers. So they ask everyone to leave the gate area, and then scan the boarding pass as they re-enter, and yes they are supposed to glance at the passport at that stage. Now boarding on to the airbridge is allowed at this point, and yes there can be a 5 - 10 minute gap where you are standing on the airbridge waiting for the cabin crew. That is undesirable, from my perspective, and I don't participate in it, but is SOP at a lot of locations, including LHR potentially, and not FRA related. I think the SOP says the waiting time should be short, so if the cabin crew really aren't ready they should hold people back from the airbridge. The problem then is a lack of space which makes it trickier for the gate agent to close up the flight.

LCY8737

Would assume this is down to having to stamp passports?

Deltus

As a totally unqualified armchair expert, I could propose:

• Splitting up the groundstaff so someone can head to the gate while someone else mans the check-in desk for any stragglers until T-60.
• A BP scan before the security queue, to stop people going through earlier than e.g. ~60 mins ahead of departure.
• A tensa-barrier to stop people entering the gate area before someone is there to enforce the BP scan.
• Closing the door at the top of the jetbridge until the aircraft is ready for boarding, and then at least making some attempt at boarding by group number.

Deltus

Why do passports have to be stamped? In recent months, I've entered and exited Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and even the US without anyone stamping my passport. Has the global chip shortage defeated the ability of the EU to use computers?

corporate-wage-slave

Yes. Frontex isn't easily able to see the details of admission across the EU, so currently needs the stamps to check adherence to the 90/180 day rules. At least for those countries that bother about it. Next year (allegedly) the new computer system and ETIAS will remove the need.

gmt4

I frequently transit FRA, and there's a few things going on. First, the T-2 D gates that BA typically uses only have two lanes with scanning equipment. So, instant bottleneck there. Contrast that with the T-2 gates that AA, DL, or EK use which have much larger capacity and several lanes. Second, the security staff are utterly incompetent and thoroughly indifferent to the issues inherent in the security setup and their actions which exacerbate the issues. Frankfurt security is altogether bad, however when each passenger requires five or six trays due to their ridiculous policies and the scanner operator is the typical minimally capable buffoon its slows the throughput way down. The conveyor belt post-scanner gets backed up because the aforementioned buffoon flags every other tray for additional screening and nothing advances. Also, calling the priority lane by that name at these BA gates is an utter falsehood. Its given no priority. (That said, if its any consolation the A, B, & Z Gold track security for *A at T-1 is also staffed by buffoons and is equally as bad at times.)

My suggestion is to allow plenty of time for T-2 regardless, as you cannot predict when the passport lanes will be backed up and likewise with security. I have seen the passport queue stretch all the way back to the escalators for the sky train. Definitely in the morning when the bank of US bound flights are queuing along with the morning EK flight to DXB. Afternoon and later in the evening sees the other two EK flights. Smack in the middle of all this you've got gobs of other non-Schengen long haul happening. If you can use the E-gates for EU passports or are one of the three countries that can use Ez-Pass at the E-gates you'll have much better luck. However you could then run into a jam at the gate area security. There is no perfect answer. Allow too much time and you sit at the gate area with nothing to do and little to no amenities. Not enough time and you're in a massive jam. Its a crapshoot.

The most recent news is that T-2 will be idled in 2026 for modernization as T-3 is fully brought online. Maybe the madness will eventually end.

etiene

Since we're here - how bad would the experts expect it to be for the 1940 JAL departure...?

Crampedin13A

While my arrival experience into an empty T2 wasn't too stressful other than having no idea that the Skytrain was not in operation this month the posts above reminded me now the reason why I used to use Lufty to FRA. Oh well should be fun tomorrow i

BOH

Am here now and despite warnings of gloom and doom it has been a breeze. No queues whatsoever at Passport exit and my BA flight later departs from the E gates which seems to have a much bigger security area than I remember when BA only used the D gates. I was through security in less than 3 minutes, no one else to be seen.

I see what another poster said though, there is no barrier stopping pax getting through to the actual boarding area once through security so everyone has just come through. Am sure they will have to send us all back through at some point for a BP scan once boarding starts