You’ve got time to kill while you wait for your connecting flight at Germany’s Frankfurt Airport. You could read that magazine again—for the 3^rd time—or you could go behind the scenes and get a glimpse of the airport that most travelers never see.

The airport has several tour options that can accommodate large groups of 20 or more persons as well as individuals. The Mini-Tour is 45 minutes hitting the airport’s highlights including the runways and cargo areas. On weekdays, the tour starts at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., and 4 p.m. On weekends and holidays it starts at 11 a.m. and 12 noon. The price of the tour is €8.00 for adults, €7.00 for students, children, and persons with disabilities.  A family option is available for €24.00 Reservations are not needed for individuals. Groups of 20 or more should make reservations before traveling.

The Maxi-Tour is 90 minutes long and it explains the operations and history of the airport, shows you the maintenance base, cargo terminals, site of a future terminal and the airport fire brigade’s training grounds. Prices are €15.00 per person. Advanced registration is required.

The Fire Department Tour includes the Maxi-Tour plus a visit to the fire department to find out how the airport’s firefighters work. You also get a close look at “Simbas” the unique fire trucks used at large airports. Price is €17.00.

The Zeppelin Tour takes you back in time to the Zeppelin airship museum before touring the modern-day airport. Duration is 120 minutes and prices are €17.00 for adults and €15.00 for students, children under 16, and persons with disabilities. Advanced registration is required.

A reservation form can be found on the airport’s website http://www.frankfurt-airport.com. Just search for “Airport Sightseeing Tours.”

In addition to the tours, Frankfurt Airport offers an outdoor visitor’s terrace where you can observe airport operations. From the terrace, visitors can see aircraft loading, unloading, takeoffs and landings. The visitor’s terrace is open daily April to October from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The admission fee for the terrace is €5.00 for adults, €3 for students and disabled, and free for children under age 6. Terrace entrance is included free with the tours.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 12th, 2011 at 9:00 am and is filed under Travel Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.