After so many quiet weeks, the display boards at the Airport are very slowly starting to fill up again. One by one, the airlines are resuming service with their first destinations so that passengers can once again take flights from Cologne/Bonn. The increase in flight operations is closely linked to the relaxation of travel restrictions. From mid June, for example, flights can be offered from Cologne/Bonn to a number of sunny destinations in Spain, Croatia, Bulgaria, Portugal and Greece. The number of domestic flights on offer is also slowly starting to increase.
“Life is gradually returning to our Airport. Every aircraft that rolls across our apron area, and every passenger who comes back to Cologne/Bonn to embark on a journey brings us a great sense of relief. There is an unmistakeable feeling that our passengers want to start travelling again. The airlines are responding to this – the resumption of flights will initially start on a small scale, but we reckon we will soon be able to start building up our operations, perhaps even in July,” says Johan Vanneste, CEO of Flughafen Köln/Bonn GmbH.
Due to the constant changes being made to entry restrictions and the still extremely dynamic nature of the market environment, our flight schedule may be subject to change, even on a daily basis. Currently there are plans for 12 airlines to offer flights to 45 destinations, meaning overall around 250 flights a week (take-offs and landings). As things stand, Eurowings will be offering flights from mid June onwards to Palma de Mallorca, Zagreb (Croatia), Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lisbon (Portugal), Edinburgh (Scotland), Vienna (Austria), Zurich (Switzerland) and to destinations within Germany such as Munich, Hamburg and Berlin. The Hungarian airline Wizz Air will be offering flights to Eastern Europe – they currently have plans to fly to Tuzla, also to Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Varna on the Bulgarian coast of the Black Sea, and to Skopje in Macedonia.
There will be more sunshine flights in July – Ryanair is planning to resume services to tourist destinations such as Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona, Malaga, Madrid, Seville, Porto, and more besides. Tuifly has also announced that they will be flying to a number of destinations in July – they plan to offer flights to Fuerteventura, Las Palmas, Tenerife, and also to the Greek destinations Heraklion, Kos und Rhodes.
Cologne/Bonn Airport has been busy for some weeks now making preparations for the resumption of flight operations. Our aim is to ensure that passengers can take off and land in Cologne/Bonn safely, heathily and with confidence. To achieve this, countless measures have already been put in place in the terminals, procedures have been optimised and hygiene standards have been updated and some new ones introduced. With all these measures, the highest priority is being given to the health of passengers and employees. For example, it is now compulsory to wear a face mask in the terminal, distance markers have been introduced throughout the building, seating areas have been modified, protective screens have been erected at the check-in desks, and much more besides. Processes have also been optimised in order to reduce the risk of infection at the Airport to the absolute minimum. Furthermore, as before, all departures and arrivals will be handled in Terminal 1.
Passengers will come across coronavirus-related changes at many points in the terminal. The Airport is appealing to each and every individual to show a sense of responsibility in complying with the measures that have been introduced, in order to protect both themselves and others.
Further information on the measures that have been introduced by the Airport and its partners, and information for passengers on the procedure for travel can be found here: www.gesund-ans-ziel.de
