Frankfurt's Rhein-Main site opened in 1936 as a combined airplane and airship base, serving as the home port of the giant zeppelins Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg until the 1937 Hindenburg disaster ended the airship era.
Heavily bombed in World War II, the field was rebuilt by American forces and became one of the principal western departure points for the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49. Civil aviation returned alongside the US air base, and Frankfurt grew rapidly as West Germany's intercontinental gateway and the home of Lufthansa's long-haul operation.
Terminal 1, among Europe's largest buildings when it opened in 1972, was joined by Terminal 2 in 1994 and a long-distance ICE rail station in 1999 that made Frankfurt a pioneer of air-rail integration. The controversial Runway West opened in 1984 after years of protest, and a fourth runway, the Northwest landing strip, followed in 2011.
Operator Fraport has been building the vast Terminal 3 complex on the former air base grounds, scheduled to open in 2026. Throughout, Frankfurt has remained continental Europe's leading cargo airport and Lufthansa's principal hub for connecting the world to Germany.