Frankfurt Airport gets green light for Pier G and sets 2021 opening date

GERMANY. Frankfurt Airport owner and operator Fraport has received the required permit for the construction of Pier G, which will feature approximately 1,960sq m of retail and food & beverage space.

Pier G is being built in response to increased passenger growth, particularly in the low-cost segment. Scheduled to become operational in the summer season of 2021, Pier G will initially expand the airport’s capacity by 4-5 million passengers. This will increase to 6-7 million when fully completed.

Extra capacity: How Pier G will look once construction is completed.

The pier was originally envisaged to be built after completion of the first construction phase of Frankfurt Airport’s new Terminal 3, but is now being realised and commissioned ahead of schedule. It will be a fully functional, passenger handling facility and will be integrated into Terminal 3 at a later date. The main Terminal 3 building (including Piers H and J) will feature approximately 9,700sq m of retail and food & beverage space in its first construction phase, with operations set to begin in winter 2023.

As Pier G will mainly cater to low-cost airline traffic, Fraport said it would emphasise “lean processes that enable passengers to get to their flights quickly and easily by the shortest possible paths”.

“We’re very pleased to have obtained the green light for building Pier G,” said a Fraport spokesperson. “Given the prolonged permit process, however, we’re now analysing how to arrange Pier G’s construction schedule to optimally meet the ongoing strong traffic growth.

“Our goal is still to offer additional state-of-the-art handling capacities as soon as possible to relieve our existing Terminals 1 and 2. The plan is to award the contract for the construction of Pier G to a general contractor by early 2019.”

Some facts and figures on Terminal 3, as provided by Fraport.
Click on image to enlarge.
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