Frankfurt Airport Terminal 1 and The Squaire: A Practical Guide

Terminal 1 is the original Frankfurt Airport, opened in 1972 and extended ever since, and it is where Lufthansa and the Star Alliance live. Since Terminal 2 closed in June 2026 and its airlines moved to Terminal 3, Terminal 1 has become simpler to describe: if you fly Lufthansa, Austrian, SWISS, United, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines or any other Star Alliance carrier, or Condor, you are here. This guide explains the halls, the piers, the two railway stations and The Squaire, and which hotels you reach without going outside.

Halls and piers

Terminal 1 has three check-in halls on level 2, A, B and C, arranged in a line. Hall A serves Lufthansa and most Star Alliance flights, and halls B and C the remaining Star Alliance carriers and Condor; check the hall letter on your booking. Behind them run the piers. Pier A, rebuilt as the A-Plus pier in 2012, handles Lufthansa’s Schengen flights on its lower level and non-Schengen flights on its upper Z level, reached through passport control. Pier B is mixed, pier C is non-Schengen, and the transit routes between them include passport-control points and an internal people mover, so a connection from pier B to a Z gate takes 15 to 25 minutes. The MY CLOUD Transit Hotel is in the Z area near Gate Z25.

Arrivals are on level 1, below the check-in halls, with the meeting points, car hire desks and the exits to taxis, buses and the hotel-shuttle stop between exits B5 and B6. The regional railway station (Regionalbahnhof) for S-Bahn lines S8 and S9 and regional trains is directly under the terminal, one level further down.

The long-distance station and The Squaire

The long-distance station (Fernbahnhof, also called the AIRail Terminal) is a separate building 300 m from Terminal 1, joined to it by a covered bridge with moving walkways. ICE trains from here reach Cologne in under an hour, Stuttgart in about 75 minutes and Munich in about three hours, and Lufthansa Express Rail and Rail&Fly tickets are valid, as our train station guide explains.

The Squaire is the glass building laid across the station: 660 m long, with offices, cafés, a supermarket, a medical centre and two hotels. The Hilton Frankfurt Airport is in the middle, directly above the platforms, and the Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport at the western end; both are five to ten minutes from Terminal 1 under cover. Between the terminal and The Squaire, the Sheraton Frankfurt Airport and Frankfurt Airport Marriott Hotel share a building with its own walkway from the arrivals level, about five minutes from the terminal doors.

The SkyLine to Terminal 3

The SkyLine people mover station is at the end of Terminal 1 nearest the Sheraton and the long-distance station. Trains to Terminal 3 take 8 to 10 minutes and are free; when the SkyLine is suspended, replacement buses leave from the forecourt and take about 20 minutes. Our Terminal 3 guide covers the new terminal.

Eating, shopping and waiting

Landside, the halls have bakeries, cafés, a supermarket and restaurants, most of which close between midnight and 5:00 am. Airside, pier A and the Z level have the best choice of restaurants and the Lufthansa lounges; pier B has the napcabs sleep cabins on level 3 and a quieter set of gates. Free Wi-Fi covers the terminal. Our sleeping in the airport guide and lounges guide cover the overnight and lounge options.

Hotels for a Terminal 1 flight

The four walkway hotels, Sheraton, Marriott, Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn, are the answer for a departure before 7:00 am. The Steigenberger Airport Hotel Frankfurt runs a free shuttle every 20 minutes around the clock to the stop between exits B5 and B6, and the NH Frankfurt Airport in Kelsterbach a free shuttle every 30 minutes by day. Gateway Gardens is one S-Bahn stop from the regional station under the terminal, with nine hotels from the MEININGER Frankfurt Airport to the Hyatt Place Frankfurt Airport.

Tips

Give a Terminal 1 connection an hour if it involves a Z gate and passport control, more if you need to collect a bag. Use the arrivals-level walkway to the Sheraton rather than the forecourt; it is signed Hotels and avoids the taxi lanes. And if your ticket says Terminal 2, it is out of date: the airline now flies from Terminal 3.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which airlines use Terminal 1 at Frankfurt Airport?

Lufthansa and its group airlines, every Star Alliance partner, and Condor until summer 2027. Non-Star Alliance airlines moved to Terminal 3 by June 2026 when Terminal 2 closed. Terminal 1 is still the larger terminal by passengers.

What is The Squaire?

A 660-metre office and hotel building laid across the long-distance railway station beside Terminal 1. It contains the Hilton Frankfurt Airport and Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport, offices, cafés and a supermarket, and it is joined to Terminal 1 by a covered bridge with moving walkways.

How far apart are the Terminal 1 piers?

Far. Pier A with its Z upper level for non-Schengen flights, pier B, pier C and the older halls stretch over a kilometre; a walk from the far end of pier A to pier C takes 20 to 25 minutes, and Lufthansa quotes minimum connection times of 45 minutes and more within the terminal.

Information last verified: September 11, 2026