Return to the double-digit millions: more than 10 million passengers took off and landed at Cologne Bonn Airport in 2024. This means that the number of travellers climbed back above the 10 million mark for the first time since 2019. Last year, tourist destinations in the sun and trips to visit family and friends were particularly popular with passengers. Most passengers flew to Turkey and Spain, with the most popular destinations being Antalya, Palma de Mallorca, Istanbul and London.
‘We are very pleased that traffic has continued to grow in 2024 and that we were able to welcome more than 10 million passengers at the airport again for the first time since the pandemic. This is a great success that should not be taken for granted, as many opportunities in the aviation sector in Germany are currently passing by due to high state location costs, and airlines prefer to deploy their aircraft in other European countries,’ says Thilo Schmid, Chairman of the Management Board of Flughafen Köln/Bonn GmbH. ‘As the renewed increase in passenger numbers shows, people's desire to travel remains undiminished. That's why we are continuously working with our numerous airline partners to further develop our flight schedule and add new destinations.’
After the end of the coronavirus pandemic in 2022, the number of travellers at Cologne Bonn Airport rose continuously. After 8.8 million in 2022 and 9.8 million in 2023, more than 10 million passengers now use the airport (+3%). The airport had last exceeded this mark five times in a row between 2015 and 2019. In 2024, the airport was still around 2 million passengers short of the pre-crisis level of 2019. In addition to the high government costs, this is also due to the very significant reduction in domestic German traffic. In this segment, airlines are offering far fewer flights than in 2019.
In the freight business, the airport once again asserted its position as one of the most important locations in Germany and Europe in 2024. A total of around 840,000 tonnes of freight were handled at Cologne/Bonn. Although the generally difficult situation in the global economy, as well as wars and crises in Europe and around the world, are significantly complicating the conditions in the freight business, the result is only slightly below that of 2023 (870,000 tonnes). The 2019 level, when the airport handled 815,000 tonnes of freight, will continue to be exceeded. ‘The consistently high level in the freight sector clearly shows that our airport is extremely robustly positioned even in a challenging market environment,’ says Schmid.
For 2025, the airport expects to exceed the 10 million mark in passenger traffic again. It is anticipated that 10.6 million travellers will take off or land in Cologne/Bonn. In the cargo business, the airport expects a slight increase in volume to 850,000 tonnes.
