Anniversary promotion with British Airways and passengers at the gate.
From the first flight to Berlin on 26 September 1950 to worldwide connections.
A historic date: 26 September 1950. On this day exactly 75 years ago, a British European Airways (BEA) aircraft made history at Cologne/Bonn Airport. A Vickers Viking opened scheduled civil air traffic in Wahner Heide with a flight to Berlin – the beginning of a new era. 75 years later, the airport celebrated this milestone in its special anniversary year together with British Airways, the successor to BEA. On 8 December 1950, a few weeks after the first civil flight, the airport company was founded.
‘The first scheduled civil flight in Cologne/Bonn marked the start of an impressive development for our airport: today, we are an important location for international passenger and cargo connections,’ says Thilo Schmid, Chairman of the Management Board of Flughafen Köln/Bonn GmbH. ‘The fact that we are able to celebrate this special day with British Airways has strong historical symbolism. The fact that the airline, whose predecessor opened civil aviation here 75 years ago, continues to fly to and from Cologne/Bonn and connects our airport with London Heathrow, underscores our close partnership.’
Gate event for passengers with anniversary cake and postcards
On Friday afternoon (26 September), a small celebration was held by the airport and the airline at the gate for the British Airways flight to London Heathrow to mark the anniversary. There was a specially designed anniversary cake and a candy bar. Passengers travelling to London Heathrow with British Airways at midday on this special day also received special bags with small gifts from the airport. In addition, postcards commemorating the historic day in 1950 were distributed to passengers and visitors in both terminals.
‘A stone's throw’: maiden flight also celebrated in 1950
The launch of the first civilian flight 75 years ago had already attracted great public interest, as can be read in a report in the ‘Kölnische Rundschau’ newspaper on 27 September 1950. Under the headline ‘A stone's throw from Berlin’, it states: ‘So the time had come, namely at two o'clock yesterday afternoon, when around 20 invited guests and press representatives gathered at Cologne Airport, which had been handed over to civilian use, where British European Airways took off with its first passengers on the newly established Cologne-Berlin route.’
And further: "Before that, a few formalities had to be taken care of. And finally, the photographers wanted to take their obligatory snapshot of the small expedition in front of the aircraft, a sleek Vickers Viking. [...] But finally, the time had come, and the propellers began to turn. After a short run-up, the silver bird lifted off the ground. The first civilian passenger flight from Cologne to Berlin after the war had taken off." Shortly afterwards, the airline also began operating flights to London. This connected the airport to the international air traffic network.
British Airways, the successor to the former BEA, is still present at Cologne Bonn Airport today and connects it up to twelve times a week with London Heathrow – one of the most important international hubs. From there, passengers can travel on to destinations all over the world.
