Cologne Bonn Airport “Konrad Adenauer”
Germany's third-largest cargo airport, home to UPS and FedEx hubs and once the government airport of the Bonn Republic.
Since 1994, the airport has carried the name “Konrad Adenauer” in honor of the Federal Republic's first chancellor and former mayor of Cologne. In both offices he strongly championed the airport's development and made its civilian use possible.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- International commercial airport
- Location
- Cologne, Porz district, Grengel neighborhood
- Distance
- 12 km to Cologne city center, 16 km to central Bonn
- Opened
- 1939
- Codes
- IATA CGN, ICAO EDDK
- Passengers 2025
- 10,060,452
- Cargo 2025
- 842,377 tonnes
As the government airport of the Bonn Republic, Cologne Bonn received guests of state from around the world, including U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.
Air Cargo Hub
DHL, UPS and FedEx are all based here. UPS runs its European hub at the airport, and FedEx its Eastern European one. Daily connections serve destinations worldwide, including North America, Asia and Africa. Because there is no night flight ban, the airport has a competitive edge within North Rhine-Westphalia. In 2025 it ranked third in Germany for cargo volume. Another figure, given without a year, cites 873,000 tonnes, placing it 6th in Europe and among the 50 largest air cargo hubs worldwide.
Passenger Traffic and Ratings
Eurowings has a base here, and Ryanair also flies to numerous European destinations. Lufthansa CityLine (until September 2014) and Germanwings (until 2020) were once based here. By passenger numbers the airport ranks 6th in Germany, behind Hamburg and ahead of Stuttgart, and 5th by traffic units. Before the pandemic, in 2019, it handled 12.4 million passengers; in 2023 the figure was 9.8 million.
In the 2020 Skytrax survey of 13.5 million respondents, it placed 2nd among regional airports in Europe and 3rd worldwide. It took 1st in Europe and 2nd worldwide in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2019. In 2020 it also made the top 30 of the “World’s Top 100 Airports” and received four out of five stars.
Government Airport and Military
During the Bonn Republic, the airport served as the Federal Republic's government airport, a decision in which Adenauer played a key role. Many state guests arrived here, including US President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. The military section houses the main base of the Federal Ministry of Defence's Special Air Mission Wing. Its aircraft carry soldiers to overseas deployments, and politicians and high-level delegations on official visits around the world. NATO's MRTT Unit and the Canadian Operational Support of the Canadian Air Force also operate from here.
Rescue and Disaster Relief
The Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance operates the civil protection helicopter Christoph 3 at the airport. ADAC Air Rescue has stationed the intensive care transport helicopter Christoph Rheinland here. The airport also serves as the central hub for international deployments of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW).
Timeline
- 1939Construction/opening of the airport
- 1963Visit by US President John F. Kennedy
- 1994Airport receives the name suffix "Konrad Adenauer"
- 2005Visit by Pope Benedict XVI
- 2014Lufthansa CityLine ends its home base in September; Skytrax rank 1 in Europe
- 201912.4 million passengers; Skytrax rank 1 in Europe
- 2020Germanwings wound down; Skytrax rank 3 worldwide
- 20239.8 million passengers at the airport
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Sources & links
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-09-28
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