Paris with Layover in Munich. Can we leave the airport?
 

We have a flight from Paris to Munich. We then have a 6 hour layover before our flight back to Chicago. Are we able to leave the airport in Munich? What kind of documentation checks will we have to go through? How long do these typically take? Will we have to go through more checks again when we re-enter the airport? Thank you so much in advance for any help!

It is almost as if are starting your trip again from Munich. You go through all the checks minus boarding pass retrieval and luggage check. Passport control to exit Schengen zone then at least one security check. If there was a air security incidence, there will be more checks especially for flights returning to the U.S. I flew home right after the shoe incidence and there was a secondary security check for all U.S. bound flights with lines going out of sight.

I have visited Munich during a 6 hour layover, but it was Schengen arrival and Schengen departure. I studied the S-Bahn logistics so I got off the plane with exact change I need to buy the type of tickets I needed, and was on S-Bahn heading to Munich in 20 minutes after plane open the door at the gate. I was in cafe at Marienplatz one hour after the plane opened the door.

First thing, your baggage should be checked through to your final destination (which is standard).

Second, you deplane, go through passport control, leave the terminal, walk across a square, you buy the "Airport-City-Day-Ticket" for €12.40 (no exact change needed, credit cards are accepted) at a ticket machine, take the escalator down to the platform and board S8. The ride to Marienplatz takes 38 minutes and the train leaves every 20 minutes. The ticket is already validated and also good for the return ride.

Third, after visiting the city centre, you take back the S8 to the airport, go straight to your gate with your boarding pass in hand, pass the usual security check, passport control and eventually a second security check which is performed by the NSA.

There may be lines at the security checkpoint, so it might be wise to arrive 90 minutes prior to departure at the airport.

I am not aware of any passport control flying from Paris to Munich. Is that new?

>> I am not aware of any passport control flying from Paris to Munich. <<

It can happen. Because of the refugee situation, even within the Schengen area, passport controls are possible. Yesterday, the European Union decided to prolongate this regime for another 3 months.

If there is no passport control, OP will even be 5 minutes faster to leave the airport.

I don't know about the situation in Munich, but yesterday we flew from Toulouse to AMS. We had to go through passport control/screening even though it was in intra-Schengen flight. Then, we did the real deal passport control in AMS before returning to the US.

We have done this, when flying from our home in Italy to New York, with a layover in Munich. It was fairly easy, and we were back in plenty of time, but the Lufthansa gate agent was very huffy because we hadn't checked in for the flight to the US before leaving the airport. We already had boarding passes, but apparently we were supposed to have checked in at the departure gate, which wasn't open when we left the airport.

She asked to see our baggage claim tickets (for the luggage already checked through to New York), but one of our party couldn't find his, so she refused to put his bag on the plane. She said in a very nasty tone, "No clean underwear for you tonight, young man!"

We were afraid he was going to have trouble reporting the missing bag in New York without the claim ticket. Instead, at the airport in New York, he was paged immediately by Lufthansa, who apologized profusely that his bag wasn't on the flight, and gave him a toiletries kit plus some money, and promised to bring the bag to our hotel the next day, which they did. Very mysterious, and I hope they fired her.

As traveler1959 has said, it's very easy to get into Munich. We took a walk around some of the central squares, visited a beautiful Baroque (or Rococco) church, and had a light lunch at an outdoor market before going back to the airport. It was well worth the time.

<i>I am not aware of any passport control flying from Paris to Munich. Is that new? </i>

I think Greg was referring to the exit passport control when leaving Munich en route to the US. I would get back to the airport at least two hours before the flight.