Cologne Bonn Airport Flughafen Köln/Bonn | |||||||||||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
Airport type | Public / military | ||||||||||||||||||
Owner/Operator | Flughafen Köln/Bonn GmbH | ||||||||||||||||||
Serves | Cologne Bonn Region | ||||||||||||||||||
Location | Wahn, Porz, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany | ||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 18 July 1957 | ||||||||||||||||||
Hub for | |||||||||||||||||||
Operating base for | |||||||||||||||||||
Built | 1939 | ||||||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 92 m / 302 ft | ||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 50°51′57″N 7°8′34″E / 50.86583°N 7.14278°E | ||||||||||||||||||
Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||
Maps | |||||||||||||||||||
Airport map | |||||||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||||||
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Statistics (2022) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Cologne Bonn Airport (German: Flughafen Köln/Bonn „Konrad Adenauer“) (IATA: CGN, ICAO: EDDK) is the international airport of Germany's fourth-largest city Cologne, and also serves Bonn, the former capital of West Germany. With approximately 12.4 million passengers passing through it in 2017, it is the seventh-largest passenger airport in Germany and the third-largest in terms of cargo operations. By traffic units, which combines cargo and passengers, the airport is in fifth position in Germany.[5] As of March 2015, Cologne Bonn Airport had services to 115 passenger destinations in 35 countries.[6] The airport is named after Cologne native Konrad Adenauer, the first post-war Chancellor of West Germany. The facility covers 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) and contains three runways.[7]
The airport is located in the district of Porz and is surrounded by Wahner Heide, a nature reserve. The airport is centrally located in the Cologne Bonn Region 12 km (7.5 mi; 6.5 nmi) southeast of the Cologne city centre and 16 km (9.9 mi; 8.6 nmi) northeast of Bonn. Cologne Bonn Airport is one of the country's few 24-hour airports and serves as a hub for Eurowings, FedEx Express[1] and UPS Airlines[2] as well as a focus city for several leisure and low-cost airlines. It is also a host of a training centre for the German (DLR) and European (EAC) astronaut programmes, part of the European Space Agency.
Cologne Bonn airport is only 49 km (30 mi; 26 nmi) south of larger Düsseldorf Airport, the main airport of the Rhine-Ruhr region, and also competes with Frankfurt Airport, Germany's largest international airport, which can be reached from Cologne within 47 minutes by the Intercity Express high-speed train. The airport is jointly owned by the City of Cologne (31.12%), the Federal Republic of Germany (30.94%), the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (30.94%), the City of Bonn (6.06%) and two counties: Rhein-Sieg-Kreis (0.59%) and Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (0.35%).[8]
In 1938, the first airfield was built on site for the German Luftwaffe. After World War II the British military took over and expanded the airport (as RAF Wahn - B-119). A 1,866 m runway was built in this period.[9]
The following squadrons used RAF Wahn: 2 Squadron between 28 June 1948 and 15 September 1949 then again between 1 July 1953 and 28 October 1955,[10] 4 Squadron between 13 November 1947 and 1 March 1948 then the squadron alternating with RAF Lubeck until 19 September 1949,[11] 11 Squadron between 15 September 1948 and 17 September 1949,[12] 14 Squadron between 1 April 1946 and 16 September 1949,[13] 17 Squadron between 1 June 1956 and 3 April 1957,[14] 21 Squadron between 3 and 26 September 1946,[15] 68 Squadron between 1 January 1952 and 22 July 1957,[16] 69 Squadron between 31 March 1946 and 7 November 1947,[16] 87 Squadron between 1 January 1952 and 2 July 1957,[17] 98 Squadron between 15 March 1946 and 19 September 1949,[18] 107 Squadron between 3 September 1946 and 15 September 1948,[19] 128 Squadron between 11 and 31 March 1946,[20] 180 Squadron between 8 and 31 March 1946 &[21] 305 Squadron between 11 March and 15 October 1946.[22]
In 1950 the airport was opened for civilian air traffic to serve both Cologne and West Germany's then new capital, Bonn, superseding the former Cologne Butzweilerhof Airport.[9]
The first scheduled international route was London-Cologne/Bonn-Berlin operated by BEA, inaugurated on 1 January 1951.[9] A second and third runway was opened in 1954 and 1961 subsequently. That same year Lufthansa inaugurated the first scheduled intercontinental service from Cologne/Bonn to New York City.[9]
The new passenger terminal, which still exists today as Terminal 1, was inaugurated in 1970. The airport's passenger and freight facilities have been extended substantially during the 1970s.[9] In 1978, the airport handled more than 2 million passengers for the first time.[9]
Cologne Bonn Airport was chosen by United Parcel Service (UPS) in 1986 as the location for their European hub.[23] TNT Express followed in 1988.[9]
By 1990, the airport handled three million passengers per year.[9] In the mid-1990s the airport started another major expansion program. Several new parking lots, a new control tower and a second terminal were built, and in 2004 a new long-distance railway station connecting the airport with InterCityExpress trains was opened.[9]
Coinciding with the start of several low-cost airlines in Germany, Cologne/Bonn opened new capacities. This enabled the airport to make competitive offers to the airlines. Consequently, Germanwings and TUIfly started operations from Cologne/Bonn as their hub in the fall of 2002. As a result, the number of passengers in 2003 rose by 43% compared to 2002. These airlines were joined by easyJet in late 2003 and Wizz Air in June 2006.
Also, the Canadian Forces began to use the airport as a staging area to move troops and supplies in support of humanitarian missions and possible anti-terrorism roles.[24]
In 2006, the Brazilian airline BRA provided a twice a week connection to Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, which was discontinued in April 2007 due to problems with the airline. Also in 2006, a daily transatlantic flight to New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport by Continental Airlines was established, operating with a Boeing 757-200. This route was discontinued on 4 September 2008 due to a reduction in passenger numbers.[25]
Low-cost carriers Ryanair and Norwegian Air Shuttle began service to Cologne/Bonn in May 2012. In April 2014, Ryanair announced the opening of their fifth German base at Cologne/Bonn Airport for October 2014.[26] In December 2014, Lufthansa announced it would base Eurowings' new long-haul operations at Cologne Bonn Airport with flights to Florida, Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean to start by the end of 2015.[27] Meanwhile, Condor cancelled their service to Varadero after only one season due to the expected competition.[28] In February 2018, Eurowings announced the relocation of all long-haul operations from Cologne consisting of four Airbus A330 aircraft to Düsseldorf Airport by late October 2018 leaving the airport without any long-haul passenger routes again.[29] In 2024, Wizz Air announced it would terminate all routes from Cologne/Bonn, which it had served for ten years.[30]
Cologne Bonn Airport has two passenger terminals which are located directly beside each other.
The older Terminal 1 is a 1970s building that sports large surfaces of bare concrete in its design. It features a u-shaped main building with shops, restaurants, check-in and service facilities and a visitors deck on its roof as well as the star-shaped piers B and C with five aircraft stands each plus a central airside hall between them added in 2004 with joint security-check facilities, more shops and restaurants as well as three additional stands. All ten stands at both piers feature jet bridges while the other three use walk-boarding. Also several bus-boarding stands are available at the apron. Terminal 1 is used by Eurowings, which occupy most of the landside check-in facilities, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines.[31] Terminal 1 features its own direct connection to the railway station.
Construction of Terminal 2 began in June 1997, and operations at the terminal commenced on 21 June 2000. It is located to the north of Terminal 1. Both feature separate check-in facilities but are connected through a landside walkway. As part of a plan-approval procedure the airport is currently seeking approval for building an airside connection between both terminals. Terminal 2 is a modern-style rectangular building made out of glass and steel which is equipped with eight stands with jet bridges as well as several stands for bus-boarding. It is used by several airlines such as Ryanair and Iran Air.[31] Terminal 2 is also directly connected to the airports' railway station via the basement level. The terminal hosts an interdenominational prayer room on its base level.[32]
The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at Cologne Bonn Airport:[33]
Cologne Bonn Airport is a major cargo hub in the world mainly due to its function as a hub for FedEx Express[1] and UPS Airlines,[2] which operates 140 flights per week at the airport alone.[70]
The German Air Force's Executive Transport Wing is based on the south-western side of the airport, adjacent to the Wahn Air Force Barracks. The military part of the airport is also used by the Canadian Forces as an operational support hub.[77]
Passengers | Movements | Freight (in t) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | 6,291,739 | 138,434 | 423,641 | |
2001 | 5,705,819 | 134,950 | 443,040 | |
2002 | 5,375,126 | 125,307 | 494,331 | |
2003 | 7,758,655 | 139,872 | 518,493 | |
2004 | 8,332,961 | 136,927 | 605,069 | |
2005 | 9,452,185 | 140,775 | 636,887 | |
2006 | 9,904,236 | 139,096 | 685,563 | |
2007 | 10,471,657 | 138,837 | 704,649 | |
2008 | 10,342,931 | 128,713 | 578,161 | |
2009 | 9,739,581 | 120,675 | 552,363 | |
2010 | 9,849,779 | 121,011 | 656,120 | |
2011 | 9,623,398 | 117,715 | 742,372 | |
2012 | 9,280,070 | 125,335 | 751,183 | |
2013 | 9,077,346 | 120,385 | 739,569 | |
2014 | 9,450,493 | 123,241 | 754,356 | |
2015 | 10,338,375 | 128,616 | 757,717 | |
2016 | 11,910,138 | 136,905 | 786,407 | |
2017 | 12,384,223 | 141,338 | 838,526 | |
2018 | 12,945,341 | 144,204 | 859,396 | |
2019 | 12,368,519 | 142,486 | 814,573 | |
2020 | 3,081,159 | 78,867 | 863,410 | |
2021 | 4,253,568 | 79,214 | 985,754 | |
2022 | 8,756,712 | 120,975 | 971,442 | |
Source: ADV German Airports Association[78] |
Cologne/Bonn Airport station is a four-track railway station on a loop off the Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed line that connects Cologne Bonn Airport to long-distance trains at least once an hour per direction, most of them ICE services. The station lies directly across both terminals under a large glass roof and features direct connections to the basement of Terminal 2 as well as the check-in area at Terminal 1-C. The S-Bahn line S 19 to Düren and regional train line RE 6 to Minden (Westfalen) connects the airport station with via Cologne Main Station. RB 27 and RE 8 between Mönchengladbach and Koblenz call at the airport station as well.[79]
The airport has its own exit (named Flughafen) on motorway A59 which links it to the city centres of Cologne and Bonn as well as the Ruhrgebiet.[80]
Local bus lines also connect the airport with Cologne (route 161) and Bonn (route SB60).[80] On 28 October 2015, a new coach terminal opened and is used for remote bus services to other German cities and many other European countries.
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Media related to Cologne Bonn Airport at Wikimedia Commons