Frankfurt am Main Airport, which opened in 1936, was all but closed to international service during and after the WWII years from 1939 to 1951. Over sixty years later, Frankfurt is a global success story and is the third busiest passenger airport in Europe behind Paris Charles De Gualle and London Heathrow. It is globally known for its efficiency and has contributed strongly to Lufthansa’s success as LH’s main hub. FRA is the busiest cargo airport in Europe and the busiest airport in Germany. As of 2011, it was the 9th busiest airport in the world. FRA was the home of Rhein-Main U.S. Air Force base until 2005. This area is now being redeveloped by Fraport, the owner of Frankfurt Airport, for Terminal 3. Frankfurt Airport owes much of its strength due to its location in Germany’s 2nd largest metropolitan area, and superb rail/highway connections including 2 integrated train stations. Beyond this, it has connected office buildings and hotels making it very business and user-friendly. Though not the most aesthetically pleasing facility, FRA works very well, and there are constant upgrades ongoing.The airport features 2 terminals with a third under construction. Terminals 1 and 2 are connected via a People Mover train service. Terminal 1, the largest and oldest terminal at FRA is home to Lufthansa and Star Alliance carriers, while Terminal 2 built in 1994, is the home to other airlines. FRA boasts 4 runways, 3 of which are longer than 13,000 feet long including a new one that opened in 2011. The main maintenance facility for its parent company, Lufthansa Technik is located here. Frankfurt Airport is the main hub of Lufthansa, LH’s Airbus A380 fleet and Condor Airlines. Due to capacity limits and a recently added night curfew, Lufthansa has been forced to add a second hub at Munich. Frankfurt is known for being an extremely friendly airport to planespotters with an observation deck in Terminal 2 and an airfield and ramp tour.Terminal 1, originally called Terminal Mitte (Central Terminal), is divided into three concourses (A, B, C, and Z) with 56 gates, opened on March 14, 1972. It was one of the world’s first airports with an electronic baggage service which is an unsung hero even today in FRA’s very smooth and efficient hub operatins for Lufthansa. Terminal 1 is dominated by Lufthansa, Condor, and the Star Alliance carriers. This terminal, the largest at FRA, is undergoing major renovation and the addition of a new pier called A-Plus that is currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2012. The pier will operate flights to non-Schengen destinations and will be used exclusively by Lufthansa. It will be compatible with Airbus A380 operations and should increase the passenger capacity by six million.Special Thanks to: Robert Payne and Roy Watson of Fraport for their airfield tour and superb hospitality.