The matches of the European Football Championships in the host city of Cologne are over - and the atmosphere in the terminals at Cologne Bonn Airport has been one of excitement during the tournament so far: thousands of fans have visited the airport in recent weeks to travel to the five matches in Cologne and other venues, with dozens of special flights operated by the airlines. National teams have also flown to or from the airport ten times, including Hungary, Scotland, England and Spain. By the end of the tournament on July 14, the airport is expecting a total of more than 160 additional flights and around 30,000 extra passengers.
"The enthusiasm for soccer has been clearly noticeable throughout the airport in recent weeks - among many travelers, but also among the staff. I am extremely pleased that we have been able to contribute to the success of the European Championships and especially the matches in Cologne with very good organization and smooth processes," says Thilo Schmid, CEO of Flughafen Köln/Bonn GmbH. "I would like to thank our #TeamCGN for this."
The majority of the additional aircraft with fans to date were traveling to or from the UK, with over half of the additional passengers coming from the British Isles. More than a thousand passengers each also traveled from or to Hungary, Romania and Georgia. All guests were registered at the airport.
All guests were greeted at the airport in the appropriate European Championship design: animations, flags, an e-bus with Euro branding and the "Giant Trophy", an oversized European Championship trophy that will be accessible as a photo spot in Terminal 1 until the final. Repeated visits by the EURO24 mascot Albärt have also delighted airport guests young and old in recent weeks.
The airport, which is working closely with the European Championship office of the Host City Cologne during the tournament, is also receiving support from volunteers in the terminals. Since the start of the tournament, a group of volunteers has been on site all day every day at two information counters to provide qualified assistance to fans - guided by the airport's terminal service. For this purpose, the airport has created a special guide for the volunteers with a terminal map, daily flight schedule, important telephone numbers and what to do in an emergency. The questions and answers range from "How do I get to the stadium?" to "I forgot my cell phone on the plane - what now?" and "Can I smoke in the security area?" On the airport's website, arriving and departing fans can find further important information on a separate landing page.
