Checks

Luggage Inspection

Before your luggage may be loaded into an aircraft, it must be inspected to ensure that it does not pose any aviation security risks. This is done in an automated procedure after it is checked. It may occasionally be necessary to open a bag without your being present. We therefore ask you not to use any padlocks.

Further information about prohibited items in checked luggage can be found here.

Security and Hand Luggage Check

At the airport, you can go shopping or visit one of our restaurants both in the public area (before security) and in the transit area (behind security). In any case, make sure you allow enough time to complete the necessary security checks. We recommend you arrive the airport approximately three hours prior to departure.

At the aviation security checkpoint, you and your belongings are checked to make sure you are not carrying any prohibited items according to the guidelines of the EU and the IATA. To avoid delays, leave small items - such as keys, mobile phone, coins or your travel documents - in your coat or jacket. As a rule, it is not necessary to remove your jewelry, watch, glasses or belt for the security check. You will have to pass through a metal detector, while your bags and outerwear are x-rayed.

If you have a heart pacemaker, shunt or catheter (e.g. to treat hydrocephalus) or a cochlear implantant, please tell a security staff member before passing through the metal detector.

Notes for Passengers Departing from Terminal 1 Hall C and Terminal 2

If you are departing from above mentioned terminal areas for a country that has not joined the Schengen Treaty, your boarding card and ID documents are checked first. The security and hand luggage check then takes place just before you enter the gate. Please note that the special rules for carrying liquids on board the aircraft also apply in this case, including any purchased duty-free items.

Tips for Avoiding Hassles

• If you are unsure whether you may carry a certain item in your hand luggage, contact your airline before leaving home to find out whether it is allowed. It is a good idea to obtain written confirmation.
• If you are denied permission to carry an item at the checkpoint, you have the opportunity to return it to your car or give it to someone who has accompanied you to the airport but is not flying.
• If this is impossible, the item is confiscated at the checkpoint.

Transfer Security Check

Please note that according to EU regulations connecting passengers may be required to pass through an additional security check.

Passport and ID Checks

If you arrive from a country that has joined the "Schengen Treaty", there are no passport checks. These countries include:

If you arrive from or depart for a country that has not joined this treaty, your travel documents will be checked. Please observe the blue signs indicating the counters for EU nationals and citizens of other countries.

Automated Passport and ID Checks

An electronic identification procedure is being tested at Frankfurt Airport. It involves scanning the iris of one of your eyes and performing a computer check on the pattern. This procedure is absolutely safe and fast, and may help you avoid long waits at the border checkpoints.

Once your passport data and iris pattern have been registered, you can take part in the test free of charge.

Eligible are all citizens of EU countries and Switzerland who are at least 18 years old, have had no restrictions placed on their mobility, and possess a machine-readable passport that is valid for at least another six months.

You can register at the "Enrolment Center" in the A Concourse of Terminal 1, in front of the Lufthansa priority check-in area.

More information is available at www.bundespolizei.de or by calling the German Federal Police at +49 (0) 69 690-78578.

Customs Check

When arriving from a country that has joined the "Schengen Treaty", you are exempt from all customs checks. They include:

Take the green exit if you have nothing to declare.

If you are arriving from a country that belongs to the European Union (EU) or if what you are carrying does not exceed the permitted allowances, please use the green customs exit.

Use the red exit if you have something to declare.

If you are carrying more than the permitted duty-free allowances or if you are importing goods intended for sale or commercial use (regardless of their value), then you must declare these. This also applies to goods that are prohibited or subject to restrictions. These include narcotics, weapons, ammunition, and protected species of plants or animals, parts thereof or products made from these.

Video

This video provides important information about the screening procedure, for example on how to transport liquids or how to pass through security with your computer laptop.