Escape from the Messe and Back to Hamburg Airport
TRIP REPORT: More Innovations in Hamburg
In this week of passenger experience fun:
- Back to Hamburg Again. And yes, keeping it simple
- To Heathrow Airport with FlixBus and Terminal 5
- British Airways Galleries South, Terminal 5
- BA964 London Heathrow to Hamburg (Club Europe – New Configuration)
- The joy of the European Entry/Exit System and into Hamburg
- The Ibis Budget St Pauli (Refurbished)
- A walk through the Hamburg Dom Fair (Spring Fair)
- What you might have missed from Aircraft Interiors Expo 2026
- Off the Camera Roll – Exploring Hamburg during the quiet moments
- Escape from the Messe and Return to Hamburg Airport
- Hamburg Airport Lounge and European Entry/Exit System queues
- BA969 Hamburg to London Heathrow (Club Europe – Old Configuration)
- A Luggage Mess and a Messier Coach Ride Home
- Continued Innovation
With Aircraft Interiors Expo coming to a close for another year, I made my way out of the Hamburg Messe and towards an exit, as there was travel ahead.
I had other places to be the next day. And being in Germany the next day wasn’t on that list, sadly.
Near the exit…
Whilst I should have done the intelligent thing and had a day to cool down after the show, I had a pile of crap to do in the real world (that was stacking, thanks to my time off).
Instead, I chose to make my life a little more difficult and head for home to deal with said messes.
Nothing new there.
Eingang? More like Ausgang at this point.
Wheeling myself out of the Messe, I had already paid for my transit fare to the airport – a reasonable €3.83 for a Zone AB ticket via the HVV app. It beats the €35 or so taxi fare to the airport with Freenow. In addition, I had a good few hours before I needed to be at the airport and complete the formalities.
So with time on my side, the U and S-Bahn network worked well for my travel needs.
Whilst I didn’t run into any revenue inspectors for public transport this trip, don’t ever take the chance when travelling in Germany – pay up and have a ticket. I’ve seen people caught before at stations and on the train… and they don’t take crap or excuses.
Just fines.
For the journey back to the airport, I took the U2 from Messenhallen to Jungfernstieg, changing there for the S1 to the Airport and Poppenbüttel. Travelling from Messenhallen, it’s an easy journey. Just make sure you’re on the right platform and pointing in the correct direction of travel.
U-Bahn train arriving at Messenhallen.
And departing from Jungfernstieg.
I’d always suggest changing anywhere but Hamburg Hbf or stations east of that station, as the trains can fill up quickly, and you could end up standing for the journey to the airport.
If you’re taking the S1, it’s important to remember that the trains to the airport divide at Ohrdruf (except in certain direct services) – so in normal circumstances, aim to sit in the front three carriages of the train – and pay attention to the signs on the front of the train.
Jungfernstieg S-Bahn
Admittedly, when I arrived at the platform, there was a train heading straight to the airport… that was jam-packed. I therefore did the intelligent thing and waited a whole seven minutes for the next train to the airport, which was very lightly loaded.
This train was for Poppenbüttel. You would need to change at Ohrdorf to get to the airport if you caught this service…
Or wait three more minutes for a train that goes to the Airport and Poppenbüttel. Remember, sit in the front three coaches (unless the train says it’s going to just the airport).
I can deal with that.
At this point, I’m very much in automatic mode. The brain has switched off mentally, and it’s time for someone else to take the strain to the airport and towards home.
Soon enough, the train had reached OOhrdorf where it split, with the three-car portion I was sitting on heading into the tunnel and on to Hamburg Airport.
Arriving at the Airport station
Exiting the train, I took the wrong exit (Terminal 1 instead of Terminal 2 – but that doesn’t matter. A ground-floor walkway connects both terminals.
FIDS
See you next year.
The walk between Terminal 1 and 2 gave me time to consider my check-in options, given I had liquids I was bringing back to the United Kingdom already – thus, at least one bag was going to have to be checked in. The choice was: do I want to be lazy and check my rucksack in for the flight home? Either way, I would have a long wait at Heathrow for luggage. It would be just how much I would be carrying with me.
Because this is what you need at an airport. Dry cleaning and clothes repair (never a bad thing on a bad day).
Hamburg tat.
Your author will not be providing a translation of this.
That’s a lot of goldbears.
In the end, both my backpack and suitcase would be heading to the hold for the flight back to London – I couldn’t be bothered to carry them around and face airport security.
There’s also an Edeka at the airport – good for a last-minute shop.
Red or Green Shells won’t help you here…
The most feared shelf in Germany.
With a quick repack completed (especially important as I was travelling with the messenger bag only, so batteries had to move homes and so on), I was ready to face the departure level.
Arriving at the departure level, the queues at the British Airways desks were starting to fill up, as people were using this as a last-minute escape from Hamburg to head home or to catch an early morning flight west.
And of course, when people queue up for no reason (given there were no agents at the check-in desks), other people follow behind like sheep.
Ok – Let’s stop right here for a few minutes and enjoy some Bond. James Bond. A lot of you have seen this airport before – and not from my trip reports.
This is where British Secret Service Agent 007 (played by Pierce Brosnan) went to pick up his Avis rental from a rather miffed Q (played by the late Desmond Llewelyn) in Tomorrow Never Dies (a film that seems more relevant each day, with media manipulation for profit being a thing that seems to exist).
The initial car hire scenes are done at Hamburg Airport on this floor, with Bond’s German-speaking levels akin to mine on a bad day.
The rest was shot at a private hangar near Stansted Airport. The Titan Airways BAe 146/BAe Avro are a big giveaway of whose hangar it was.
Anyway. Bond diversion over. Back to our usual show.
Around 18:30, ground staff started to show up. I took my place in the queue at that point. And yes, even in the premium queue, it was growing behind me. The economy class queue – even worse.
I was seen to at a reasonable speed, and both bags were accepted for travel to London (with the backpack needing to go via oversized luggage, as straps appear to scare Germans).
With that done, it was time to head over to security. I had Fast Track Access on my ticket – thankfully, it was quiet (given the amount of Lufthansa strikes that were in play when I was in Germany, it was not surprising). Fast Lane access is all automatic, so it’s a case of getting your barcodes ready and going through the gate.
What wasn’t surprising is how… detailed… the security teams work at Hamburg airport, with them pulling bags left, right and centre; thus, retrieving screened luggage can be extremely slow.
Amazingly, this year, my small messenger bag attracted no attention, nor did my laptop and coat. Thus, I had a quick escape from the security zone.
The other security stations
Thataway.
Who else can’t wait for this trend to be over?
To the lounge!
As the formalities were completed, I headed to the lounge to chill and get changed, as there was no chance I was going to be formal for the flight home.
Next:
The Hamburg Airport common lounge.
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