(Video is available with English captions)
A passenger survey at Frankfurt Airport’s Terminal 3 has found strong positive response to the terminal’s integration of art, architecture and retail, according to airport operator Fraport.
Around 87% of respondents rated Terminal 3 positively, saying it met their expectations for a modern, attractive airport terminal. The building’s design, the quality of the experience and its atmosphere were the most frequently cited successful elements, with design and ambiance also rated as important factors in respondents’ evaluation of shops and dining options.
Fraport has released a video walkthrough of the terminal featuring artist Tobias Rehberger, Dr Babett Stapel, Fraport’s senior executive vice president of retail and real estate; and Alexander Laukenmann, Fraport’s senior executive vice president of aviation, touring the space.
The tour centers on artworks by Rehberger that define key areas of the terminal, including the “Long Gone” tunnel, the “Endless Truth” lounge, the “No Where” stele, and the “Turn Left” desk in the terminal’s central marketplace, where Fraport says art, dining, retail, and leisure spaces converge.
Rehberger said his interest was in how transit spaces could be transformed into places people consciously notice and identify with.
“Airports are places of transition. I was interested in the question of how such transit spaces can be transformed into places that people consciously perceive and with which they identify,” Rehberger said.
In the video, Stapel discusses how art, lounge areas, dining, wayfinding and retail were designed as a cohesive experience, while Laukenmann addresses the perspective of flight operations.
According to the survey, the lounge furniture outside the gate areas, the drop ceiling in the central marketplace and the terminal’s color scheme were among the features passengers found most surprising. Feedback on retail and dining also focused primarily on atmosphere, layout and design rather than product range.
Fraport said the approach reflects an intention to treat shopping and dining as part of a broader travel experience, rather than in isolation, with plans to extend the concept across the airport.
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