Cologne Bonn Airport

Cologne/Bonn Airport (German: Flughafen Köln/Bonn, also called Köln/Bonn-Konrad Adenauer or Flughafen Köln-Wahn) (IATA: CGN, ICAO: EDDK) is an international airport located in the district of Porz in the city of Cologne, Germany, and is surrounded by the Wahner Heide nature reserve. The airport is centrally located in the Cologne/Bonn Region 14.8 km (9.2 mi) southeast^[2] of Cologne city centre^[2] and 16 km (9.9 mi) northeast of Bonn. It is the sixth largest airport in Germany and one of the country's few 24-hour airports. In terms of cargo flights it is second. Just over 9.8 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010, a 1% increase compared with 2009.^[1]

History

In 1913 the first plane took off from the Wahner Heide military training area on an artillery reconnaissance flight. In 1939 an airfield was built for the German Luftwaffe.

After World War II the British military took over and expanded the airport. A 1,866 m runway was built in this period. In 1951 the airport was opened for civilian air traffic, superseding the former Cologne Butzweilerhof Airport.

During the 50s and 60s two more runways and a new terminal were constructed. On 1 November 1970 a Boeing 747 took off for New York City for the first time.

In 1986 Cologne/Bonn Airport was chosen by United Parcel Service (UPS) as the location for their European hub.

In the late 1990s the Airport started an expansion program. Several new parking lots and a second terminal were built, and in 2004 a new long-distance railway station was opened.

Among several other new air connections in 2006 was a daily transatlantic flight to New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport by Continental Airlines who operated the route with a Boeing 757-200. This route was discontinued on September 4, 2008 due to a reduction in passenger numbers.^[3]

Low-cost carriers

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. They were joined by EasyJet in late 2003 and Wizz Air in June 2006.

As a result, the number of passengers in 2003 rose by 43% compared to 2002.

The airport is actively searching for airlines willing to establish the first trans-atlantic low-cost flights.

Airlines and destinations

Cargo airlines

Cologne Bonn Airport is a major cargo hub in the world.

Ground transportation

Cologne/Bonn Airport station is a railway station on a loop off the Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed line that connects Cologne Bonn Airport to long-distance trains, most of them ICE services following the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line. S-Bahn trains also stop at the station.

Space

Cologne Airport is host of the German and European space agencies DLR and EAC, part of ESA, which train astronauts there for space explorations. Apart from that, Cologne Airport is one of NASA's worldwide 19 non-American Space Shuttle abort landing sites.^[4]

Operations and statistics

Passenger numbers

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} ADV passenger statistics and aircraft movements
2. ^ ^{a b c} EAD Basic
3. ^ Continental.com
4. ^ List of Space Shuttle emergency landing sites at GlobalSecurity.org
5. ^ Number of Passengers including both domestic and international.
6. ^ Number of Movements represents total commercial air transport takeoffs and landings during that year.

• Airport-cgn.de, Schedule April–June 2008.

External links

• Cologne Bonn Airport (official site)