Recall that I spent a year working inside Frankfurt Airport and one thing that I noticed, but never really thought much of until I saw the video below, was that there were a lot of familiar faces that were not wearing airport badges.
There was a guy who resembled the Hunchback of Notre Dame who was always perched in a chair next to the smoking patio with his laptop plugged in, just down the hall from the Sheraton. I passed him every evening on my way out from the office and I am sure he was (and perhaps still is) one of the airport’s 50 homeless inhabitants.
I never met the subject of this video (in German)–
Frankfurt is a very livable airport – not just because of the heat and 24-7 open policy, but because the chairs do not have armrests, there are several lounges, showers, and the airport is clam and peaceful overnight, with no loud noises or TSA announcements overnight.
I have written before that if I ever found myself homeless, a European or Asian airport would be my home. Frankfurt would work, but I would want two things – first, a Star Gold card in order to access the many Lufthansa lounges on a daily basis for food and a hot shower (this would require buying a refundable ticket and cancelling or extending it each day). There is even now an Air Canada Star Gold lounge prior to security that makes accessing a lounge even easier.
Second, I would want an airport canteen card. Frankfurt has a wonderful airport canteen with hearty German food that is highly subsidized–think 3-5 EUR for a very filling dinner. The subject of the video above lives on about about 7EUR/day, but that money would go quite a bit further if he had access to the airport cafeteria.
> Read More: When the Money Runs Out: Living on Airline Miles
(tip of the hat to Gary)
I find this to be extremely interesting. I doubt there are many airports in America that would be so liveable as this one is.
I’m assuming the canteen is only open to airport employees? That sounds like a really nice perk.