Munich Airport

Munich Airport's rule: from a Schengen flight to a Schengen flight, usually no passport control. From a non-Schengen flight to a non-Schengen flight, usually no passport control if you do not leave the gate area. Between Schengen and non-Schengen, in either direction, you must pass passport control. Iran is listed in Annex IV of the EU Visa Code (consolidated text of 28 June 2024). So an Iranian passport holder needs an airport transit visa to change planes in Munich, even to stay only in the non-Schengen part of the airport. You do not need it if you hold one of these (Article 3(5) and Annex V of the Visa Code): a valid Schengen visa; a residence permit from an EU country, including Ireland and Cyprus; a residence permit from the United Kingdom; a valid visa for Ireland, Cyprus, the United States, Canada or Japan, when you travel to that country or to any other non-EU country, or come back from that country after using the visa; a residence permit from the United States, Canada or Japan, such as a US green card; a diplomatic passport. Family members of EU citizens are also exempt. Carry the original visa or permit and show it at check-in. To enter Germany, for example on separate tickets or to reach a Schengen flight, you need a Schengen visa. When you cross the border, non-EU travellers are registered in the EU Entry/Exit System (EES), which Munich Airport has used since April 2026 and which makes queues longer. Ask your airline and the German embassy about your own case before you book.

Terminal 1 has modules A to E. Since 21 April 2026, non-Schengen flights from Terminal 1 (about 40 airlines) leave from the new Terminal 1 Pier, which is about 360 metres long and has one central passport control and security. Terminal 2 has gates G and H. Its Satellite (gates J, K and L) is a separate building reached only by the underground train (every 4 minutes, 4 a.m. to midnight, about 1 minute). A free bus links Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 (5 to 7 minutes, from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.). We could not confirm that this bus keeps a non-Schengen passenger away from passport control, so if you hold only an airport transit visa, ask your airline before you book. The airport does not recommend walking between terminals, because of extra checks. Hall F is a separate building that you can reach only on foot through the public area: follow the 'Exit/Hall F' signs. You do not normally need stairs, but boarding bridges can slope up to 10 percent, and at a remote stand you may ride a low-floor bus and, on some aircraft, climb stairs. The airport warns of long walks and does not publish walking times between gates. If long walks are hard for you, ask your airline for wheelchair help (see below).

Ask your airline, travel agent or tour organiser, not the airport. Munich Airport says it cannot take requests itself. Ask when you book, or no later than 48 hours before departure, and say how much help you need. Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways and Emirates each ask for 48 hours on their own pages. We could not read Lufthansa's page, so confirm the time with Lufthansa. If you walk short distances but cannot manage stairs, ask for WCHS; if you cannot walk at all, ask for WCHC. The airport says to choose these if long walks, sloping boarding bridges or aircraft stairs are hard for you. Ask for help on every flight of your trip, including the connection in Munich. If you have separate tickets, ask each airline.

If you change planes in Munich, your help must be booked through your airline at least 48 hours ahead, and it meets you at the plane. If no one is there, tell the cabin crew or the gate staff and show your boarding pass. The Mobility Service Points, the check-in counters and the information desks that lend wheelchairs are all in the public area before security, so a transfer passenger with only an airport transit visa cannot reach them. Those points are for people who start their trip in Munich. They are near check-in in Terminal 1, Module B, Level 04, and in the Terminal 2 departure area, Level 04. If you start your trip in Munich, go first to your airline's check-in counter, and contact the Mobility Service at least 2 hours before your flight, or 3 hours before an intercontinental flight. At security, use the 'Fastlane' marked with the wheelchair symbol. Free loan wheelchairs are available at the information desks.

The Mobility Service is free of charge. The Sunflower lanyard (for hidden disabilities such as memory problems or anxiety) is free with no proof needed. It is handed out at the Terminal 1 main information desk and Mobility Service Point, and at the Terminal 2 Level 03 information desk and Mobility Service Point, which are all before security. The airport also sells a paid Meet and Assist service: a staff member meets you at the arrival gate and walks you to your departure gate. The price list valid from 1 January 2025 shows 250 euros for one person for a transfer, only when arrival and departure are within 3 hours, and 75 euros for each extra person. Cancellation is free up to 48 hours before, and bookings made less than 12 hours before cost 25 percent more. The service is for adults aged 18 or over, or children travelling with an adult. Book by email at meetandassist@munich-airport.de. If you have a pacemaker or implant, you can ask for screening without the hand probe; a doctor's letter helps.

Information desks are in the Munich Airport Center (Level 03), Terminal 1 areas B, C and D (Level 04), and Terminal 2 gates G and H (Level 03). The airport lists all of them in the public area, before security. The main information desk in Terminal 1 is open 24 hours; the others open according to the flight schedule. InfoGate counters (video screens linking you to airport staff) are found throughout the airport. Airport information phone: +49 89 975 00, email info@munich-airport.de. Airport emergency: +49 89 975 112. Medical Center emergency call: +49 89 975 633 44. Airport chaplaincy: +49 89 975 909 26. Airline phone numbers listed by the airport: Lufthansa +49 69 86799799, Turkish Airlines +49 69 86799849, Qatar Airways +49 69 17489914, Emirates +49 69 945192000. The airport does not say which languages staff speak, so do not count on Persian.

Free Recreation Areas with lounge chairs, USB charging and flight screens are behind security and open 24 hours: Terminal 1 gates A (Level 04), Terminal 2 gates G and H (Levels 04 and 05), and the Satellite (Levels 04 and 05). Muslim prayer rooms are in Terminal 1: after security in Area C, Level 05 (separate washrooms for men and women) and in Area A, Level 03 (with washing facilities); before security there is a small prayer area on Level 05, with ablution washrooms on Level 03. Prayer and Meditation Rooms for all faiths are behind security in Terminal 1 gates A (Level 03, in the new Pier) and Terminal 2 gates G and H (Level 05). The Christophorus Chapel is in the public area of the Munich Airport Center, Level 04. Paid napcabs sleeping cabins are in Terminal 2 (17 euros an hour by day, minimum 34 euros). Showers cost 25 euros plus a 20 euro deposit, but the key comes from a Service Center, which is before security. Germany uses the euro. Cash machines (Reisebank, Euronet) run 24 hours, including behind security in Terminal 2 and the Satellite. Reisebank and Travelex exchange money and list cash, GiroCard and credit card as payment. Bring some euros in cash.