To ensure that increasing air traffic can continue to be handled smoothly in the future and that Munich Airport remains an attractive hub for connections around the world, Terminal 1 has been expanded with a new non-Schengen pier.

The reduced, deliberately restrained architecture of the new Terminal 1 Pier, which covers around 95,000 m², takes its cue from the airport’s existing buildings and translates their key design elements into a contemporary architectural language. The more than 360-metre-long transparent pier, which also includes two positions for Airbus A380 aircraft, projects from the existing Terminal 1 as a homogeneous structure and rests on a recessed plinth above the surrounding apron. With its glazed external façade, the pier appears immaterial and weightless, particularly at dusk, while offering arriving and departing passengers exciting views into the building interior directly from the aircraft.

Inside the new pier, centrally organised security and transfer processes and an intuitive wayfinding system ensure optimised passenger flows. Varied gastronomy and retail areas, the light-filled, central marketplace, as well as calm lounge and waiting areas with spectacular views of the airfield, provide an exceptional quality of stay and a special passenger experience before departure.
Thanks to its sustainable and economical planning, the compact and flexible pier can be easily adapted to changing requirements and increasing passenger numbers in the future, ensuring optimal utilisation. This is made possible by an open floor-plan structure that can be expanded with additional usable areas as needed, thereby guaranteeing the new pier the longest possible service life.

The Terminal 1 Pier, which has been in operation since the end of April 2026, was built while airport operations continued and was prepared for operational use step by step, including an extensive trial operation phase. sop architekten and JSK Architekci are responsible for the design, with which they successfully prevailed in 2017 as a joint venture together with SSF Ingenieure and Schüßler-Plan in an international competition.