Assuming it actually runs when you need it, which is far from certain.

That's good news in my books. I was worried Z SEN would turn into a complete zoo ... which it can be on a good day anyway. We are flying out of Z on 1/2 - let's see how the SEN lounge looks like around 11 a.m. ... probably not pretty

Connecting in FRA on 12/31, flying business class. Arrive in unsecured Z from JHB at 5:15am, and fly to JFK out of Z at 11am. That’s almost 6 hours. With the Z business lounge closed, was debating doing the Arrivals welcome lounge in landside, or the A lounge. Either way, will have to go through security one (arriving into unsecured) and pass through immigration twice (non-EU). Advice on the two options?

You can walk to B. One security check, no immigration check.

What is the current situation with the bus (mentioned here) between Z and B ? Where does it go from (in Z and B) and where does it drop people off ? Is there is one security check and no passport check in both directions?

You can�t walk To B from Z. Unless the bus is running, you still need to go through security twice if on uses the train. Therefore, not an option as I�m not keen to go through security twice

I'd personally find B the better option.

At that time of day I certainly wouldn't say there's an easy way to do it, whatever you choose.

I took the bus from Z to B on 12/27 having been turned away from the Senator lounge in Z.
The bus was packed and it was a bit of a hike down the stairs but ok. Had to wait a while either end for the bus to fill. The business lounge in B was pretty crowded but I found a spot. I had 4-hour layover and definitely needed a lounge as Z terminal was packed.

Oh it goes from Z11 (down a few flights of stairs) and arrives in B50 or so (sorry, can't remember exactly but it's not a long walk to the lounge).
Then on the way back it drops you at an A gate but somehow you don't have to go through passport on the way back - but it is a bit of a hike. I'm not super-familiar with FRA so I don't really understand how that worked.

No passport or security either end.

I dont think any human on the planet is super-familiar with frankenstein airport. Not even the people who keep revising the monstrosity

Thanks for the explanation.

But what I really want to know is: can I go from B departures to Z departures and back again with no security check and no passport check? A is Schengen, so I would expect there to be a check before entering.

Logically, movement from B departures to Z departures, and from Z departures to B departures, should need no passport or security check� After all, both are non-Schengen and clean, so why keep people in those areas separated? But in FRA you never know- not even people who work there understand it fully.

FRA is absurdly complex, which is why I�ll keep searching for connx thru MUC or ZRH. They really should consider knocking FRA down and starting again😂.

YEs - B to Z and Z to B using the bus has no security and no passport. Just a bus.

I've wondered about this myself. You can get on another non-Schengen flight if you arrive in Z and leave from Z without going through security, but to get a non-Schengen flight from B you need to go through security.

Does anyone know why?

It's just the current layout of the airport. There is no clean path inside the terminal.

As others have written above there is a bus that links the two but it takes a while and it doesn't run all the time.

They have some renovations planned that should fix this.

Well this shows why really Fraport should offer a special diploma course called �Layout of Frankfurt Airport�� Only candidates who get the highest grade at the end would be qualified to fly from FRA�😂😂😂😂

So as I understand it: it�s all to do with Schengen and non-Schengen on the one hand, and �clean� and �unclean� on the other. From some countries, pax arrive �clean� because (I guess) governments have agreed common standards. In particular, these �clean� countries include USA, UK (yes, even despite Brexit and the fact that the UK was never in Schengen, and also despite the fact that LHR offers no clean status to anyone arriving from anywhere except other UK airports), and I think also Canada.

This allows arrivals from �clean� countries non-Schengen countries arriving on B or Z gates to disembark into the boarding area of B or Z rather than the arrivals corridor. This means that, yes, you could in theory fly MAN-FRA-JFK with no security or passport check at all at FRA: no security because you were made �clean� in MAN and no passport because you don�t �enter� Schengen (you came from non-Schengen MAN and you�re going on to non-Schengen JFK, so you�re not formally leaving Schengen or entering Schengen- you�re purely in transit.)

All that is fine in theory. As mentioned elsewhere, the problem is the layout of the airport- the doors and corridors and separations of pax. So, for example, if at any stage the MAN-FRA-JFK pax is in the same space as a pax who has arrived from CAI (and I absolutely mean no offense to CAI or anyone who travels from there!!), the �clean� status is gone for all of them and those pax must all go through security before connecting onwards.

All of this is not helped by poor info- the �interactive map� on the Fraport website is terrible and I have yet to find a really good map or even a good explanation of connecting routes. Given that LHG arrive into and depart from such a wide variety of gates, a really detailed �arrival and transfer map� would be very useful.