Turns out the answer is ‘yes’! It took a little bit of planning but a colleague managed to pull this off.

So did you ever have a friend or family member transiting through Frankfurt Airport and you wished you could see them? It is often impractical for the traveller to exit customs to meet you as they will probably miss their flight going back through security, or maybe they don’t even have a visa to exit into Germany. The solution is obviously for you to buy the cheapest ticket you can find and meet them inside the transit zone.

I had often wondered if this was possible and recently a colleague had the chance to pull it off. Here’s how they made sure that they were in the right place at the right time, and important tips not to mess it up.

First point is access. You simply can’t get into the transit zone without buying a plane ticket. So there is a cost but it will depend on how important it is to meet the person passing by. In this case it was a rare opportunity to meet someone after years apart, so they found the cheapest one way ticket (€150) departing from correct wing of the airport. This gets you through passport control and security.

Next step is to make sure you are in the correct part of airport. More than just the two terminals, the airport is divided into sections (A, B, C, D, E and Z). Check the arrival and departure flights for your visitor for previous weeks as the flights normally arrive and depart from the same zone with the same flight number. Aim to meet in zone where their next flight leaves from. Arrivals are more likely to change zones last minute but departures rarely change zone as all the passengers would be waiting in the wrong place. Now, using the same logic, buy a cheap ticket for a flight using the same zone. Check the departures list for flights in the correct zone at roughly the right time of day. This gives a list of likely candidates. Then go to skyscanner (or similar) and check prices on the shortest routes and budget airlines first to find a bargain candidate. They ended up with a fun one-way ticket to somewhere in Turkey!

Now you are set to be in the right place to meet your traveller. But two more points. Firstly, go to your departure gate and tell them that you won’t be boarding the flight. They won’t mind, but since you are already through security they will know and will make announcements for you.

Second point is the exit. You just need your passport and resident card to get out – unless you are meeting in the EU zone in which case you can just stroll straight out to freedom.

And there it is. Thank me later!

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