Press Kit (2021-07-30)

A New Attraction at Frankfurt Airport:
Fraport Visitor Center Opens on August 2

Around 30 innovative and interactive exhibits – Opportunity to experience Germany’s largest aviation hub in an entirely new way

A new attraction is opening on August 2 at Frankfurt Airport: the multimedia Fraport Visitor Center in Terminal 1, Hall C, will welcome its first guests just in time for the summer travel season. Its wide range of interactive exhibits allows visitors of all ages to experience the fascinating world of aviation up-close.

On 1,200 square meters of floor space, around 30 innovative exhibits offer an exciting glimpse behind the scenes at Frankfurt Airport and of aviation in general. Visitors not only learn about the airport’s day-to-day operations; they also have the opportunity to review its history, discover aviation technologies, and consider the future of flight.

The exhibits invite guests to interact and immerse themselves. In one game, visitors put their marshalling skills to the test by guiding an Airbus A320neo to its parking position. A further highlight is a virtual-reality ride through the airport’s baggage handling system. Fraport CEO Dr. Stefan Schulte stated: “Our multimedia Visitor Center allows people to better understand and experience first-hand the diverse and highly complex airport world. The new attraction will also be key to strengthening long-term dialogue with our local community and guests from other parts of Germany and the world.”

“The Globe” is the most technologically sophisticated exhibit in the Visitor Center. This interactive LCD wall visualizes all active flights around the world in real time. It is made up of 28 individual displays, combined to create a single screen spanning some 25 square meters. The system is truly unique: nowhere else is capable of depicting thousands of flight movements in such detail. Flight data for The Globe are provided by FlightAware, a U.S. flight tracking platform. Fraport partners with FlightAware to process data required for operations at Frankfurt Airport. In particular, the data provided by FlightAware allow better planning of airport processes.

The Fraport Visitor Center was completed in fall 2020, following two years of construction, at a cost of approximately 5.7 million euros. “We had to postpone its opening multiple times due to the pandemic. I am therefore all the more pleased to now unveil our new visitor attraction at Frankfurt Airport. The center turns the spotlight on the fascinating world of airport life,” explained Anke Giesen, member of Fraport’s executive board and Executive Director of Retail and Real Estate.

Tickets to the center must be purchased online in advance at www.fra-tours.com/en. Booking confirmation is required to gain admission. Currently, tickets are not available at the airport itself.

The Fraport Visitor Center will be open daily from 11 am to 7 pm. The standard entry price for adults is 12 euros. A reduced price of 10 euros is available for eligible guests with corresponding ID. Children under four enter free of charge. During the current regional school vacation, ending August 27, guests will be able to park for one hour free of charge in the airport’s public garages; the parking slip must be brought to the Visitor Center’s reception desk for validation.

The Fraport Visitor Center can also be booked as an exclusive venue for events. It is equipped with the latest presentation technology, and the one-of-a-kind airport panorama makes it an ideal backdrop for product launches, press conferences and sundowner parties.

More information on the new multimedia Fraport Visitor Center can be found here.

Fraport Visitor Center

Promo Video

Promo video

The Globe

At the heart of the Visitor Center is a unique, innovative 25 square meters multiscreen that tracks all flights worldwide in real time.

Airport City Model

Use a tablet to discover the inner workings of an international aviation hub.

Airport City Model

A glimpse into the otherwise hidden world of a major airport.

Airport City Model

Explore Frankfurt Airport City on 55 square meters.

Smart Windows

Explore the busy apron with touch functions and augmented reality.

The Globe

At the heart of the Visitor Center is a unique, innovative 25 square meters multiscreen that tracks all flights worldwide in real time.

Airport City Model

Use a tablet to discover the inner workings of an international aviation hub.

Airport City Model

Explore Frankfurt Airport City on 55 square meters.

Fluggi’s Flight (for our youngest guests)

The airport world fascinates our very youngest guests.

Photo with older children

Alpha, Delta, Tango: be an air traffic controller for a day.

Smart Windows

Explore the busy apron with touch functions and augmented reality.

Motion Ride

A roller-coaster trip through the baggage handling system via a VR headset.

Marshaller’s Game

Guide an aircraft to its parking position like an authentic marshaller.

Event venue (before The Globe)

Business events in an inspirational high-tech atmosphere.

Event venue with a view of the apron

An exceptional airport location for any type of event.

Anke Giesen (before The Globe) 1

 

Anke Giesen (before The Globe) 2

 

Anke Giesen with Guests

l.t.r. Alexander Zell, Thorsten Jordan, Tony Merrigan (FlightAware), Björn Vieten, Anke Giesen, Max Tribolet (FlightAware)

Count Up Wall

 

Flight Routes on The Globe

 

Jürgen Harrer (before The Globe) 1

 

Jürgen Harrer (before The Globe) 2

 

Marshaller's Game 1

Tony Merrigan from FlightAware

Marshaller's Game 2

Tony Merrigan from FlightAware

Motion Ride in Action

Tony Merrigan and Max Tribolet (FlightAware)

Radio Frankfurt

in front of Children's Air Traffic Control Panel

Smart WIndow

 

Stefan Schulte (before The Globe) 2

 

Stefan Schulte (before The Globe)

 

Stefan Schulte (Marshaller's Game)

 

View through the Visitor Center

 

Explore the Fascination of Frankfurt Airport

New Fraport Visitor Center to open on August  2 – Visitors’  Terrace and Airport Tours now operating again

Frankfurt Airport is gaining another attraction: a new multimedia Visitor Center that will open soon in Concourse C of Terminal 1. The new facility puts the fascinating world of Germany’s largest airport at visitors’ fingertips. It’s an opportunity for airport fans of all ages to explore the aviation business with all of their senses. How about slipping into the role of marshaller and guiding a jet into its parking position? You can do it here! Or hurtling through the winding tunnels of the airport’s automated baggage conveyor system? Just put on a virtual reality headset and start the exhilerating Motion Ride! The exhibition’s centerpiece, The Globe, also lets you playfully experience worldwide aviation in action – and learn about the important role that Frankfurt Airport plays in it.

The path through the exhibition spanning 1,200 square meters is indicated by glowing overhead stripes that precisely match the paths used by giant aircraft to take off and land. Right at the start, a 55-square-meter model of the Airport City (at a scale of 1:750) invites guests to embark on a virtual voyage of discovery. This detailed replica of the entire airport and its 400-odd buildings can be interactively explored using an iPad. Over 80 digital points of interest deliver a wealth of interesting information in the form of texts, videos and 3D animations. “Smart windows” use virtual reality to supplement the apron panorama with real-time data on parked aircraft. Engrossing stories about zeppelins and the Berlin Airlift can also be enjoyed during a trip back in time.

“The Globe”, a gigantic interactive LED wall comprising 28 monitor screens, visualizes all ongoing flights between FRA and other points worldwide in real time. It’s an impressive way to experience the enormous web of global connections and the complexity of international aviation.

The popular airport tours will also resume in early August. The Starter Tour lasts 45 minutes and includes live narration to provide a fascinating stream of figures, data and facts on the airport and its activities. The 120-minute XXL Tour provides a more extensive look behind the scenes. Guests get to watch ground handling operations, takeoffs and landings while passing close to aircraft, and also catch glimpses of the new fire station number 1 and the construction project to build the new Terminal 3 in the south of the airport.

The perfect way to round out an excursion to the airport is to enjoy the view from the popular Visitors’ Terrace. This platform at Terminal 2 provides a bird’s-eye perspective of planes from around the world landing and taking off and the bustling activity on the airport apron. To celebrate its reopening, admission is free of charge for a limited time – to cap the number of visitors at any given time, however, it is necessary to reserve a time slot.

Reservations are required for all of the facilities and can be made in the ticket shop at www.fra-tours.com. Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to do so on site. During the summer school holidays in the German state of Hesse, guests of the Visitor Center can park free of charge in FRA’s public parking facilities: simply take a ticket when driving in and get it validated at the entrance of the Visitor Center. Also for day trippers, Frankfurt Airport is always a worthwhile destination – naturally while complying with the current rules to prevent infection.

Important to know: like the Visitors’ Terrace, the multimedia Fraport Visitor Center can also be booked for holding events of all kinds.

Fraport to Deploy FlightAware Predictive Technology at Frankfurt Airport

Fraport AG will begin using real-time predictive runway arrival times, so called ‘ELDTs’ (Estimated Landing Times) delivered via FlightAware’s Firehose feed as an additional data source in the further optimization of airport operations at their home base of Frankfurt Airport. Fraport is one of the leading managers in the global airport business with activities at 30 airports worldwide. Offering the world’s largest flight tracking data platform, FlightAware is an industry leader in digital aviation solutions. The partnership gives Fraport access to precise, predicted runway arrival times, aircraft positions and flight status from FlightAware.

FlightAware’s ELDTs are optimized by machine-learning models, which are the premier product of the company’s state-of-the-art predictive technology program announced earlier this year. The models are based on statistical analysis of flight tracks and timestamps of hundreds of thousands of flights and are capable of identifying the key influencing factors determining the prediction of flight events in real-time. Fraport will integrate the data into their operational tools and analytical platforms to optimize airfield efficiency and ground personnel allocation at Frankfurt Airport.

“FlightAware’s innovative predictive technology will take Fraport’s operational excellence to the next level,” said Dr. Pierre Dominique Prümm, Fraport AG’s executive board member for aviation and infrastructure. “We are gaining a powerful real-time tool for advancing our Frankfurt Airport operations – benefitting both our airlines and passengers. Ultimately, we are reinforcing our commitment to ensure all passengers have a ‘good trip’ via Frankfurt Airport,” stressed Prümm.

With more direct routes than any other airport in the world, Frankfurt Airport plays a critical role in connecting passengers traveling through Europe. For the current summer timetable, the airport is served by 94 passenger airlines flying to 306 destinations in 98 countries worldwide. A total of 137 intercontinental destinations are available via Frankfurt – underscoring its role as a leading hub in the global air transportation system. In addition, Frankfurt Airport is handling an average of 1,500 flights per day – more than any other European airport.

“Traditionally, our data has been used to understand past or present events. Fraport’s use of our ELDTs is an important step for us and demonstrates our ability to predict future events,” said Daniel Baker, FlightAware Founder and CEO. “This will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the more than 70 million passengers traveling through Frankfurt Airport each year.”