Free WiFi at Frankfurt Airport

I’m never pleased to get stuck for a lengthy layover at an airport that doesn’t offer WiFi, let alone free WiFi. So when I had 8 hours to sit in Frankfurt Airport (FRA) and found out it was not especially WiFi friendly, I got distressed.

T-Mobile offers it via the “Telekom” network that shows up unlocked on your device. Prices are 4.95 € for one hour, 19.95 € for 600 minutes, and 34.95 € for 30 tage! Er, days. None of those sounded too appealing to me. You can also hook into “Telekom” and at the welcome page it has a place to click for 30 free minutes of use per day. Unfortunately, you have to give them your mobile number and they send a pin number. Though I typically use my Thai mobile number abroad (as my American number does not work outside the US), I was still unable to connect to a German mobile service as a roamer. So even the free 30 minutes weren’t going to happen.

All was not lost. Though most everyone told me there was nothing free, I found two free hotspots. The first, totally random, is located in Terminal 1 near a café/coffee shop that sits right against the windows at the front door on ground level at check-ins for Lufthansa. I’m still not sure from whence it came, but it was usable for checking mail while standing there in the clearly-I-am-stealing-your-WiFi-and-pretending-not-to-be pose. (No, seriously, I received a very lengthy and important text message from my personal shaman which required me to first ceremoniously wave my phone up and down to the four cardinal points of the Universe as was the custom of the Ancients… OK, fine. I am stealing your WiFi.)

For some sit-down-and-get-work-done WiFi, I found a choice: Meyer, a coffee shop Meyer, or if you want to pronounce as the Germans say it (and as I heard it and subsequently failed to find it) “Maya”. (Like Guatemala? Coffee? Made sense at the time.) I rather expect the Meyer folks expect you to buy something – I got a cappuccino – and then they give you a password good for 90 minutes (used to be 30!). I asked for a couple more passwords when I ran out and got them worth 45 minutes each. The coffee is good (about 3 €), the sandwiches and desserts as well (4.75-7 €), and more than a couple people came in and ordered some Prosecco. Meyer is located in the shopping area near the pharmacy in Terminal 1*. The pharmacy – like toilets, gates, train info — is marked on the various signs so is easy to locate. Happy surfing, ja?

UPDATES: There are THREE Meyer locations in Terminal 1 – see links to maps here.

June 17, 2013 Also in Terminal 1 next to B43 you should look for the Senator Lounge. Some unlucked Wi-Fi without registration can be found there and you’ll find some comfortable seats right outside. Thanks to Niels for that tip!

*If you are in Terminal 2 go up a floor to the SkyLine train to Terminal 1 or take the inter-terminal bus out front.

Map of Frankfurt Airport:

Trivia note: Did you know that Frankfurt airport employs 75,000 people? One-tenth of the city’s population!