Frankfurt, Manchester and Hong Kong

[TheWierdOne]

Ey up all

I’m taking my first really long distance flight in December to visit my girlfriend’s extended family in Hong Kong, doing an open jaw via Frankfurt and flying out of Manchester and into Heathrow. Has anyone connected at Frankfurt before and could you give me the rundown on how it works? I have a particularly tight connection both ways (1:20 outbound, 0:50 inbound) but I believe I should be covered by one or both of EU or UK passenger rights if anything goes wrong.

Also if anyone has any advice for Manchester and Hong Kong airports I’d appreciate it, as I’ve never flown through either of these before, and I’ve heard Manchester in particular is notorious for delays at security.

 

[signed]

Connecting in FRA is not a fun experience, but since you are doing non-Schengen to non-Schengen, 1h20/50min will likely do, you are unlikely to need to pass security when coming to the UK, but you will pass security back from HKG.

Connecting in Frankfurt [FRA] 2024- - FlyerTalk Forums

Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, Brussels, LOT, ITA and Other Partners | Miles & More - Connecting in Frankfurt [FRA] 2024- - This guide is meant to be for passengers connecting between LH Group airlines and to/from Star Alliance flights in Frankfurt possibly for the first time. Please post all other...

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Our counterparts at FlyerTalk have made a comprehensive FAQ about connecting there

Basics or "Follow the signs"

Frankfurt Airport (FRA) has two terminals and all Lufthansa and Star Alliance flights use Terminal 1 which is divided into 3 piers: A/Z, B and C (A and Z are the same pier on two floors).

On arrival at FRA check the departure gate number of your connecting flight on the flight display boards even if you already have a boarding pass. If no flight display boards can be found, follow the signs for "Abflug/Departures" and you will eventually come to one.

The "Abflug/Departures" signs may show gate numbers (e.g. A1-16) or gate areas (e.g. B C).

According to the FRA website, the blue signs show you the way to the most important destinations, and the gray ones lead you to service facilities.

If immigration or passport control is required, following the signs to the correct boarding gate should take you through the necessary check points.

If you don't already have a boarding pass for your connecting flight, get one from a Transfer Counter or if within one hour of departure from the departure gate of your onward flight.

LH flight status say that on today (20/07) most MAN flights arrive at either A or Z (Z is a level above A), and the flight to HKG goes from Z

You may get a bus or not

 

[atillathehunn]

Enjoy Hong Kong! It's a great city to be in.

In order:

Manchester: there was a period in which security was atrocious. Your Lufthansa flight will leave from T2 and Manchester which is mostly the new scanners (if not all the new scanners now) and security takes a few moments. There can be queues for the first wave, but it's generally OK now. Don't over think this bit.

Frankfurt: it's not a fun or pleasant airport to transfer through. However, it you will still get where you're going and they wouldn't sell flights that they weren't highly confident you would make. Just follow the signs and follow the flow. If you're on a short connection, you will probably get whisked through any security check as a priority.

Yesterday the Manchester flights arrived at:
VL949 - Z16
LH947 - B43
VL943 - Z13

Yesterday's Lufthansa flight to Hong Kong left from a Z gate.

According to the link above, you will need to pass through transfer security. Arriving at a high number B gate requires security without exception and arriving at a Z gate only exempts UK origin flights from security if connecting to A or low B gates.

Again, it will all be fine.

Hong Kong: great airport. Moves pretty swiftly in both directions.

 

[TheWierdOne]

Thank you both, this is really helpful. Is there a convenient place to acquire unhealthy quantities of German snacks for the flight to HKG during the connection at FRA or should I not bother and stock up at MAN?

 

[signed]

Thank you both, this is really helpful. Is there a convenient place to acquire unhealthy quantities of German snacks for the flight to HKG during the connection at FRA or should I not bother and stock up at MAN?

I would stock up at a supermarket in the UK, you won’t get scammed that way , and you’ll have something in case your connection is cut even shorter. And you’ll have more choices.

Please make sure however to not have any food on you on arrival in HKG, I don’t know for HKG, most countries (most notably the US) are very strict regarding food imports

 

[atillathehunn]

Thank you both, this is really helpful. Is there a convenient place to acquire unhealthy quantities of German snacks for the flight to HKG during the connection at FRA or should I not bother and stock up at MAN?

Frankfurt is an expensive airport. If possible, and if complying with all rules on bringing food to the various countries you will visit, bring food from the UK.

 

[speedy1]

I suddenly lost my appetite last time I was at Frankfurt after seeing the prices and that was back in 2019!

Just to confirm, your trip is booked on a single itinerary? If so no, need to worry about missing your connection etc as it's the contractual responsibility of the airline to get you to your destination in case of delays and cancellations

 

[AlastairFraser]

Manchester: there was a period in which security was atrocious. Your Lufthansa flight will leave from T2 and Manchester which is mostly the new scanners (if not all the new scanners now) and security takes a few moments. There can be queues for the first wave, but it's generally OK now. Don't over think this bit.

I agree, with the caveat that the OP should consider booking fast track security at MAN in advance, especially if connecting in from public transport. It's just for peace of mind on a long haul itinerary with connections.

 

[TheWierdOne]

I suddenly lost my appetite last time I was at Frankfurt after seeing the prices and that was back in 2019!

Just to confirm, your trip is booked on a single itinerary? If so no, need to worry about missing your connection etc as it's the contractual responsibility of the airline to get you to your destination in case of delays and cancellations

Yes it’s all one ticket each way. I specifically booked Lufthansa rather than Turkish so that all parts of the journey would be covered by EU or UK passenger rights due to the transfer in Frankfurt.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Jul 2026 ==

I agree, with the caveat that the OP should consider booking fast track security at MAN in advance, especially if connecting in from public transport. It's just for peace of mind on a long haul itinerary with connections.

I will have a look at this, my departure from Manchester is at 17:45 and I’m only coming from Leeds so I’ll be able to travel with plenty of spare time in any case.

 

[signed]

Yes it’s all one ticket each way. I specifically booked Lufthansa rather than Turkish so that all parts of the journey would be covered by EU or UK passenger rights due to the transfer in Frankfurt.

For future information, Turkey has a copy paste of EC261 with SHY, the only difference is that they pay you a € amount in Lira

https://web.shgm.gov.tr/doc4/shy-passenger.pdf

 

[atillathehunn]

Yes it’s all one ticket each way. I specifically booked Lufthansa rather than Turkish so that all parts of the journey would be covered by EU or UK passenger rights due to the transfer in Frankfurt.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Jul 2026 ==


I will have a look at this, my departure from Manchester is at 17:45 and I’m only coming from Leeds so I’ll be able to travel with plenty of spare time in any case.

At the time of day you are travelling, security is usually pretty quiet.

For what it's worth, Turkiye has a very similar set of rules as EC/261. I was IRROPs with TK last year and it was all dealt with smoothly, including hotel and transfer to hotel in the small hours of the morning.

 

[chesterred16]

I've transferred a few times in FRA (flying from Manchester to/from the US). I don't have the same negative view, although I seem to recall that there's always a bus transfer involved from Arrivals to Departures and it's not very well signed or announced. I'm sure there's no security check as you're staying airside, and quick transfers are preferable as there's not an awful lot to do there. My main worry with a 50 min transfer would be whether the bags would make it.

 

[kijeta]

Please make sure however to not have any food on you on arrival in HKG, I don’t know for HKG, most countries (most notably the US) are very strict regarding food imports

Hong Kong's customs controls for food import is very relaxed. (https://www.customs.gov.hk/en/servi...arance/prohibited-controlled-items/index.html) It has actually given me culture shock visiting other countries as someone who grew up in Hong Kong. However, Hong Kong does not allow even possession of alternative tobacco products (e.g., vapes or flavoured cigarettes), or CBD.

 

[AlastairFraser]

I will have a look at this, my departure from Manchester is at 17:45 and I’m only coming from Leeds so I’ll be able to travel with plenty of spare time in any case.

Ah OK. Yeah I would keep an eye on the security wait time and decide on the way then perhaps.
The only thing is that it's more expensive to use Fast Track upfront, compared to booking in advance.

 

[Watershed]

Yes it’s all one ticket each way. I specifically booked Lufthansa rather than Turkish so that all parts of the journey would be covered by EU or UK passenger rights due to the transfer in Frankfurt.

Every journey departing the UK is covered by UK261, regardless of the operating airline or where you change on your way to your final destination. So your outbound journey would have been covered whether you flew with Turkish, Lufthansa, or indeed any other airline.

Your return journey is covered by UK261 because it finishes in the UK and involves a UK or EU carrier (Lufthansa). It would not have been covered by UK261 if you had flown with Turkish.

You are not covered by EU261 in either direction because your overall journey is between two non-EU countries. Lufthansa have been very proud to establish this exception to the legislation through case law...

I think you are covered by the SHY (Turkish equivalent of EU261) for journeys that involve transiting Turkey but the legislation isn't terribly clear on that point.

 

[atillathehunn]

there's always a bus transfer involved from Arrivals to Departures

This is in fact not true.

and it's not very well signed or announced.

This is somewhat true - signs are rather confusing but they do exist. Just follow them.

I'm sure there's no security check as you're staying airside,

This is also not true. A link to authoritative sources has been provided above, which includes information on between which sets of gates transfer security is required, compared against the previous day's gate allocations for the flight in question. In fact, even ignoring the Frankfurt aspect, the sentence 'no security as you're staying airside' is just in general not true. Security is required for many, many airside transits.

and quick transfers are preferable as there's not an awful lot to do there.

Pretty much true (transfer Munich for the on-site brewery).

My main worry with a 50 min transfer would be whether the bags would make it.

Again - airlines don't sell connections they are pretty confident both you and your bags will make. It's not in their interests. Bags are often quicker to be transferred than you are...

 

[Cloud Strife]

In fact, even ignoring the Frankfurt aspect, the sentence 'no security as you're staying airside' is just in general not true. Security is required for many, many airside transits.

I managed to end up having to go through security in the middle of the night in Zurich! I was staying in the airside transit hotel, couldn't sleep and passport control to the Schengen areas was closed, so after looking through the D gates and finding nothing of interest, I went off to the E gates to explore there. What I didn't realise was that there is a security check when transferring between the D and E terminals, but the way to E was clear and without any checks. After nosing around there, I wanted to get back to the hotel, only to run straight into a security check.

I was walking around in pyjamas at 2am, without a phone, wallet or boarding pass. To be fair, it was the fastest security control of my life: I walked through the x-ray scanner, got met with a "Are you sleepwalking?" comment with a smile and that was that.

I will say that Zurich Airport in the evening, especially after 9pm in the Schengen departure lounge in winter, is a wonderfully relaxed place to be.