FRA Security -- Question/Experiences
 

I'll be taking a trip to Germany on Friday, departing on Sunday :cool: What should I expect in terms of security? I don't have FRA on the list of airports with the Nude-O-Scope, so I am unsure of their current condition. Have they gotten MMW? Seems like AMS will permit people to opt-out. If FRA is operating the machines, will they allow the same?

As far as shoes/laptop/liquids, are they playing along with that nonsense, or are they civilized like most of the world, and will let me keep my shoes on?

Thanks ^

You cannot take liquids through security, so the rules are basically same as in the US for that. Never had an issue with shoes in European airports so it is okey to keep on. You have to, as in the US, take your laptop out. The big difference is that it is not the TSA who runs the security business there, so pat downs are done in a professional manner if you are so unlucky to be selected for random or set off the WTMD.

Frankfurt is usually a breeze. Professional yet generally stress-free.

Have either of you seen Nude-O-Scopes?

there are no Nude-O-Scope machines active in Germany beside the MMW test set in HAM so you will not encounter any hazzle.

Laptop out, no liquid etc is standard in Europe so you have to live with that, but you can leave shoes and belt on. In case you set off the alarm you might get a pat down (as well as they select random flyers for it more frequently now) but you will encounter the security checks as more professional then TSA ones.

Cheers, Tjobbe

Excellent ^. As far as liquids, is it 3.4oz or less, or do you mean absolutely no liquids may go through the checkpoint?

Yes, that is correct. You can brings small amount 3.4oz liquid and you can kept it inside the bags. You are required to take off the shoes at checkpoints same as USA. You have to empty the pockets. If you take off the watches and when you go through the metal detector and you won't hear the beep. They will put you into secondary screening and they will random you.

No. Common sense is still in place. 100ml liquids are permitted in a 1 litre bag just like your 3.4 oz are permitted. No need to remove shoes. I have never needed to remove my watch. I'm not sure why a few posters have told you 'no liquids' as the 100-1-1 or 3.4-1-1 rules apply and you can certainly take liquids in those amounts past security.

US bound on US carrier expect a little 'security interview' and 'extra security' at the 'request' of TSA :rolleyes: which may include a few basic questions.

I love those security interviews! Especially the ones I've had at LHR :rolleyes:

Thanks!

Which is why you stick to the non US carriers when flying to the USA... It is like avoiding El Al when going to Israel.

I never had to take my shoes off in FRA, except for US bound flights.

I had the impression that the checks were a little bit relaxed. But that could change anytime without prior warning. Further on, it looked like they removed some extra screening machines on some gates in the B-Terminal, especially for the BUS gates. I even could bring an open bottle of water on board which I bought in the sterile area.

I know that I have whinged about it here before, but it irks me that in Germany at a German airport German passengers are being 'interviewed' in English by contractors who sometimes cannot manage more than broken German.

My favourite stupid questions recently for UA flights were 'do you have any electronics in your carry on luggage?' and 'what did you purchase at the airport today?'. I had to bite my tongue and not give a smart reply to the first question, and as MUC has that huge shopping area in the central part of the terminal after getting off the S-bahn and before check in or security, I could see people having to give rather lengthy replies.

I don't see what purpose the 'extra security' provides other than perhaps to gauge nervousness but if someone is asking me the questions in broken German they most likely are not as focussed on me but rather struggling to ask the questions and understand the responses.

Sorry for the rant, but it does puzzle me!

since their German is so bad, wouldn't that be an opportune time to provide them with some sophisticated insults in your native language in a polite tone of voice...

That's pretty funny. Watch out how loud you speak though. The 'comrads' who are more fluent may be listening.

One of them was a little pissy with me because I didn't respond when she was calling out 'ma'am' from several metres away. I continued to have a polite, low toned conversation with her in German while she kept asking me things in English and told her that since she was in Germany, at a German airport, speaking to German passengers she could ask me the questions in German and I would be happy to answer her questions in German.

If I showed up at an airport in the US and was asked questions in Mandarin, I would politely suggest that they ask me questions in English.

Just to warn you, I have found that the German WTMDs are calibrated to be more sensitive than TSA's WTMDs. So, I can walk though with my belt on in the States, but for some reason it always sets off the WTMDs in Germany (and Europe more broadly).

Not sure about shoes. I always take mine off to avoid the chance that some metal studd in the heel will set off the WTMD.

I hope you kept speaking German only, let them figure *you* out, since they were in *your* country. wie gehts, dumi dumi....

In Switzerland does have to required take off the shoes in ZRH, GVA, BSL and few others, too. You are required take off the shoes in FRA. If security agent will tell you if you are required take off the shoes. I have been experience through security in ZRH for 3 times. Never have been any problems at all. I didn't removes the watch and I remember last time that I went through checkpoint. I hear the beep and he & I were escorted me into the private room and he wand me and he pat me down. I didn't have any suspicious problems at all.

100ml, 1 liter bag. Same as the US. And you can leave it in your bag the last I checked. Indeed, I love the metric system on this both because of the 100ml size as well as the larger bag. I always get my freedom baggies in Canada.

Gotta love that idiocy. I speak German fluently and was getting on a LH flight back to the US in the summer of 2002 after spending 6 weeks studying German in Berlin and Vienna. They were doing those stupid pre-boarding passport checks and interviews and I naturally wanted to speak a bit more German before heading back to the Land of the Monolingual. The lady started talking to me in English while looking at my US passport and I responded in German. She actually asked me why I was speaking German. I rolled my eyes and responded, in German, the obvious fact that we were in Germany. She had some American guy come over to "speak American" to me. Turns out he was from Sacramento and I made fun of his hometown a bit - he took my passport and processed me ahead of the rest of the line while the dumb woman asked "is everything ok" and he said "That guy? He's fine."

Liquids in 100 ml containers in a 1 l plastic bag. Shoes don't come off unless they ask you. You can tell US passengers as they're the only ones who take their shoes off:D
In Germany, belts usually have to come off. As others have said the WTMD are set very sensitively, so it won't take much to alarm them. If you do alarm them, you'll get a pat down, but it's done at once, no barking for "male assists" or whatever. The lines seem to move OK and I've never waited very long. At FRA everyone seems to be significantly ruder than at MUC, so if you have a choice, MUC is preferred (and it's a much nicer airport in any case).

My sentiments exactly, and I often say that here - avoid FRA when MUC is an option. At MUC the security also includes pleasantries along with just the normal 'please' and 'thank you'. I wouldn't call FRA 'rude', just 'German' ;) but MUC generally has 'Gemütlichkeit'.

Hopefully todays sad events won't change things very significantly; there was already a visible presence at German airports.