New Visitor Centre at FRA

[Poshgirl]

Opened on 2 August, a year later than planned due to Covid.

Located in Hall C Terminal 1, it's a mix of static and virtual features. The history of FRA, current operations and the future of commercial flight. There's the opportunity to try your hand at marshalling an A320neo to its gate. A unique feature is "The Globe", a series of flight display screens showing in real time all active flights around the world. They're joined together to form a 25 metre screen.

Entry by pre-purchased ticket only (only available online). Opening hours 1100-1900 daily. Proof of Covid status currently required. Frankfurtairport.com has all details, including admission prices. (Picture courtesy Frankfurtairport.com)

You may already know about the excellent viewing platform on Level 4 (food court), Terminal 2. Opening hours the same. Admission by pre-booked ticket only. Same conditions as Visitor Centre.View attachment 24023

 

[JENNYJET]

Are you reading this Mr. Barton?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The Germans are certainly superb at this sort of thing. A few years ago my wife and I visited the Miniatur Wunderland housed in a historic Hamburg warehouse. It's home to the largest model railway system in the world laid out in themes across a number of floors.

There is also a huge model airport with aircraft landing and taking off continuously. It features every detail one would expect at a real airport. My wife who is not usually interested in this sort of thing was fascinated.

I presume the Frankfurt initiative is run by or on behalf of the airport and that it would not have come about if the airport authorities thought they would lose money through it.

 

[Aviador]

Thanks for the info @Poshgirl I agree with @TheLocalYokel. Other than perhaps the Manchester Airport visitor centre the UK lags behind Germany and so many other countries. Keeping younger people interested in aviation has to be a good thing and these types of visitor centres are a good way of doing that. For the moment at least, people are resigned to viewing airports from perimeter fences.

 

[Poshgirl]

Must do Manchester if only for Concorde! Apparently, outside viewing there isn't what it used to be due to building of "VIP facility".

Carrying on theme, sadly we do lag behind given the UK's aviation heritage. There are so many things we could have done but no one had enough foresight. Only now do we recognise the need to preserve some of the ex-BA 747s. I hope it's successful and not just a vanity project.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Must do Manchester if only for Concorde! Apparently, outside viewing there isn't what it used to be due to building of "VIP facility".

Carrying on theme, sadly we do lag behind given the UK's aviation heritage. There are so many things we could have done but no one had enough foresight. Only now do we recognise the need to preserve some of the ex-BA 747s. I hope it's successful and not just a vanity project.

There are some aviation visitor centres around the country of course, albeit not always at airports. I'll shamelessly plug my local one.

https://aerospacebristol.org/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwu7OIBhCsARIsALxCUaNi1hMbGaqSIgt0zjLaymsf4n2PqP7rOHPhLBOm_Zcvr63jQITvLBQaAhVCEALw_wcB

 

[Jerry]

That sounds a pretty good place! May have to plan a trip to Germany!