FRA/rap-th> Following only a 20-month construction period, a new terminal section will go into operation at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) at the start of the Summer Timetable 2008.  With a total investment volume of €330 million, Fraport AG's three-part infrastructure project comprises the 25,000 square-meter Hall C Expansion, the 320-meter-long Connecting Corridor to the new pier, the so-called Pier C/D.   The key element of the new terminal section, Pier C/D,  provides three docking positions for the A380 superjumbo and offers a total of 32,000 square meters of floor space.  Fraport AG's executive board chairman Dr. Wilhelm Bender will officially inaugurate the new terminal section this afternoon.  

Hall C of Terminal 1 was expanded eastward to provide space for 40 more check-in counters.  This expansion achieves additional capacity for four million passengers per year.  Moreover, the expanded hall not only provides a remarkable increase in capacity, but it is also is a  distinctive architectural highlight.  The check-in counters are distributed over two levels.  An extravagant roof with expansive skylights ensures the interior of the new hall is suffused with natural light.  The arrivals level of the Hall C Expansion also features modern comfort and convenience. Four 90-meter-long baggage carousels will eliminate crowding in the baggage claim area.

Passengers in the expanded Hall C reach their flight gates in Pier C/D via a 320-meter-long connecting corridor.  An energy-saving glass façade gives passengers a panoramic view to the north.  The opposite side facing southward to the apron has a closed "temporary" wall. In a future construction phase within the framework of the Pier C Relocation project,  this wall will be removed and new modern and light-suffused gate rooms and aircraft docking positions will be created here. 

Pier C/D connects FRA's Terminals 1 and 2 and it  features four new aircraft docking positions.  Three of these positions are specially designed to accommodate the A380 superjumbo, but they may be flexibly used by smaller aircraft as well.  The inauguration of Pier C/D at the Frankfurt global air transportation hub marks the beginning of a new era for boarding processes.  For the first time anywhere, the cabins of new types of aircraft like the A380 can be boarded simultaneously on two separate levels.  Thus, the Frankfurt Airport operator  Fraport is underscoring its pioneering role in infrastructure preparations for the new generation of widebody jets.

Three passenger bridges per position serve the main and upper decks of the twin-deck A380.   The impressive and spacious terminal docking structures (with the three attached bridges) will ensure congestion-free passenger flow, for boarding and de-boarding operations.   The open-concept Pier C/D gates, which  can be expanded or partitioned to the required size, are located on two levels.  The lower level is for economy passengers.  The upper level features a Lufthansa Senator Lounge for first-class passengers as well as business gates with a relaxing lounge-like atmosphere. 

All gates at Pier C/D will be exclusively used by Lufthansa German Airlines.  Providing separate access and waiting areas for the individual flight classes, the new terminal section at Frankfurt Airport immediately offers passengers of Germany's biggest airline an internationally unique premium product.