The first wave of travel for the year gets underway.
Sunny destinations around the Mediterranean are particularly in demand.
Kick-off to the peak travel season: With the start of the Easter holidays, the first major wave of travel for the year begins at Cologne Bonn Airport. From the last day of school on Friday (27 March) until the end of the holidays (12 April), the airport expects a total of around 485,000 passengers. Beach destinations in the south and city breaks in European metropolises are particularly in demand.
“The Easter holidays mark the start of the peak travel season for us. Many people are using the coming months right through to autumn to fly off on holiday – often to sunny regions around the Mediterranean,” says Thilo Schmid, Chairman of the Management Board of Flughafen Köln/Bonn GmbH. “Together with all our partners, we have prepared intensively for the first wave of travellers. Our aim is to ensure passengers have a pleasant start to their holidays.”
The airport expects the busiest days this year to be at the weekends. At the start of the holidays, from Friday to Sunday (27 to 29 March), more than 84,000 passengers are expected to travel via Cologne/Bonn. Over the Easter weekend – from Good Friday up to and including Easter Monday – the airport anticipates around 123,000 travellers. On the final weekend of the holidays, there will be around 96,000 passengers. The busiest day of the holidays is expected to be 12 April, with more than 34,000 passengers.
As in the previous year, classic warm-weather destinations dominate the list of the most popular holiday destinations this season. Turkey, Spain and Italy are once again in particularly high demand. Many passengers are also drawn to major cities such as Istanbul, London and Vienna. On Sunday (29 March), the summer timetable will also come into effect at the airport. With this, the route network will expand in the coming months to include twelve new destinations from Cologne/Bonn, including Belgrade, Rimini, Podgorica and Trabzon. Further information on the summer timetable is available here.
Investments in travel comfort and quality of stay
Cologne Bonn Airport is currently continuing to invest in greater travel comfort and more efficient processes for passengers. The refurbishment of the security checkpoints and the comprehensive upgrade to state-of-the-art CT technology are progressing according to plan, meaning that five of the new security lanes will be available by the start of the Easter holidays. At these lanes, liquids and electronic devices no longer need to be removed from hand luggage. As conventional security lanes are still in use, all liquids and creams (up to 100 ml per container) must be placed in a resealable 1-litre plastic bag. This rule applies until the refurbishment work is completed.
During the renovation work, which is taking place whilst the airport remains open, there will be changes to the routeing within the terminal, particularly around the security checkpoint. In addition, the queuing area directly in front of the lanes is currently restricted due to the construction work. The full implementation of all lanes featuring state-of-the-art CT technology will be completed by the summer.
The renovation of the airport’s food and beverage facilities has already been completed. Travellers can therefore enjoy a diverse and modern range of facilities in both terminals – both in the public area and beyond the security checkpoint. The quality of the passenger experience is also being continuously enhanced through further measures, including new seating on the airside. In addition, numerous digital services remain available, such as self-bag drop-off options and the booking of time slots for security screening.
Tips for passengers on preparing for their journey
Passengers can help ensure a relaxed start to their journey with good planning and preparation. Here are a few tips:
- Check in online.
- Check with your airline or tour operator regarding the opening hours of the check-in counters and allow plenty of time.
- Check in good time whether your ID is valid and which travel documents you need for your journey.
- For Eurowings flights, you can check in the evening before your flight.
- Make use of features on the CGN WebApp or the airport website, such as the “Save flight” option for notifications about your flight or the “Travel Assistant” with lots of information.
- Book a time slot for security screening via the airport’s homepage under “CGNGateWay”.
- As a customer of Eurowings, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Ryanair, make use of the self-service baggage drop-off facilities in Terminal 1 (Self-Bag Drop-Off).
- If possible, take only one piece of hand luggage with you.
- Liquids and creams (up to 100 ml per container) must be stored in a resealable 1-litre plastic bag.
- Do not pack electronic devices and liquids at the bottom of your hand luggage – in case they need to be presented at the security checkpoint.
If travelling by car, we recommend pre-booking a parking space on the airport website.
Further tips are also available on the website.
