Cologne-Bonn Airport

Cologne Bonn Airport: the shooting star

Cologne Bonn Airport is the largest low-cost hub in continental Europe. More than 9.4 million people flew from here to 130 destinations in 2005. This figure is expected to exceed 10 million in 2006. In terms of traffic units, whereby a traffic unit is one passenger or 100 kilos of freight, Cologne/Bonn is the fourth biggest airport in Germany; in terms of passenger figures, it is sixth biggest, and in terms of freight, the second largest. With 20 million people living within a 200-kilometre radius and an outstanding infrastructure, Cologne/Bonn is one of the few airports in Europe with great potential for development. It has thee runways, which means that low-cost carriers will easily be able to manage the continually increasing traffic volume. The 3,815-metre long runway, the longest of the three, is the only real intercontinental runway in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. And there is certainly no shortage of attractive time slots. There are currently about 450 starts and landings every day and together the two terminals have the capacity to deal with over 12 million passengers every year.

Since the low-cost carriers Germanwings and Hapag-Lloyd Express made Cologne/Bonn their base in autumn 2002, the airport has posted impressive passenger growth figures. In the intervening period, the number of passengers passing through the airport has risen an incredible 82 per cent. In summer 2006, the low-cost carriers will fly to about 80 destinations around Europe. In addition to Germanwings and Hapag-Lloyd Express, Easyjet, Air Berlin, dba, centralwings, SkyEurope, and Intersky carry passengers to city destinations and sun spots from Cologne/Bonn for low fares.

The airport is a job motor for the region employing about 11,000 people. According to the last work location survey in June 2005, 164 companies (including airlines, freight companies, travel agencies, catering companies, and couriers) have set up shop here. The airport itself (Flughafen Köln/Bonn GmbH) employs 1,943 people and is the largest of these employers, followed by UPS and Deutsche Lufthansa.

What makes this airport so fascinating? Spacious waiting areas and lounges, restaurants, bars, shops, and a travel centre make sure that Terminal 2 has it all: comfort and service. The defining features of the steel and glass construction designed by architect Helmut Jahn are its transparency and brightness. Since the end of 2004, ‘Starwalk’ (the Terminal 1 extension) has enhanced the broad variety of shops, bars, and restaurants at Cologne/Bonn. The ‘Starwalk’, which measures 8,000 square metres, gives passengers a broad range of non-aviation shops and services to choose from. The strategy here is to promote strong brands. From Burger King-style fast food restaurants to the fish restaurant Gosch and the delicatessens Käfer und Leysieffer, there is something for everyone at Cologne Bonn Airport. Thirty shops sell high-quality clothing and electronics; there is also a pharmacy, a hairdressing salon, and the Köln Total souvenir shop.

There are a total of 80 check-in desks in the two terminals. The technical heart of the terminal is the large baggage sorting facility at apron level that has a capacity of up to 3,000 pieces of baggage per hour. With over 55 gates and 19 jet bridges, passengers have short distances to the planes. The airport’s three runways, large intercontinental runway with CAT IIIa and b approvals, and 24-hour operation permit mean that flight operations run smoothly.

Freight is a reliable growth factor for Cologne Bonn Airport. No less than 640,000 tons of freight were handled here in 2005. This constitutes a 6-per cent increase on last year. Despite these high growth levels, the number of flight movements has remained stable. This shows that bigger aircraft are being deployed and that planes are being used to better capacity. All aircraft can be prepared for intercontinental traffic non-stop and customs procedures can be completed in 24 hours, 365 days a year.

Cologne Bonn Airport has excellent links to the motorway and rural road network. Since mid 2004, ICE, S-Bahn and Regional-Express trains call at the underground airport train station, which is positioned centrally between the two terminals. Cologne/Bonn is an ideal example of intermodal transport linking the air, rail, and road networks. The rail link to the North brings Germany’s largest conurbation, the Ruhr, even closer to Cologne/Bonn. To the south, the ICE link connects the Cologne/Bonn catchments area with the Rhine-Main region and brings passengers from Frankfurt to Cologne and vice versa in only 1.5 hours. There are 11,200 parking spaces in the airport’s three high-rise car parks. The rates for both the long-term and short-term car parks are among the lowest at German airports.

Contact Details
	T: +49 (0)22 03 - 40-40 01/02
	F: +49 (0)22 03 - 40 27 02
	W: www.koeln-bonn-airport.de