Chaos at Cologne/Bonn Airport: Travelers have to prove patience!

Veröffentlicht:

Von:

Personal bottleneck at Cologne/Bonn Airport leads to flight cancellations and delays. Current information on flights on January 26, 2025.
Personal bottleneck at Cologne/Bonn Airport leads to flight cancellations and delays. Current information on flights on January 26, 2025. (Symbolbild/ANAG)

On January 26, 2025, a personnel bottleneck at Cologne/Bonn Airport will cause significant problems in air traffic. The current situation leads to numerous flight cancellations, regular delays on check-in and security checks as well as occasionally to completely unusual flights. Travelers are well advised to find out about the status of their flights before arriving, such as Tonight.de

A look at the recent events shows that this bottleneck is not isolated. Already on March 14, 2024, the Verdi union called for a warning strike that affected all planned flights and caused numerous cancellations and diversions. Only a few flights could start normally under difficult circumstances. The situation only normalized on March 15, 2024, after a persistent warning strike at Lufthansa from March 7th to 9th, 2024 had also impaired the airports in North Rhine-Westphalia.

challenges on the security check

In the current situation, the queues on the security controls are particularly long. However, passengers have the option of booking their personal time window for security control via the CGNGATAway system. This is possible up to 100 days in advance and is intended to better control the passenger flows and minimize waiting times, such as koeln-bonn-airport.de explained.

The booking process takes place online and enables the selection of a time window every quarter hour, whereby the booking is possible up to a maximum of 1 hour before departure. At the central security check in Terminal 1 there is a special trace for the users of the CGNGATEWAY service, which is also provided with a time buffer of +/- 10 minutes.

Passenger rights for cancellations

In view of the current flight situation, it is important for travelers to know their rights. For cancellations, passengers should contact their airline immediately. This is obliged to offer a replacement flight. If the replacement flight is only possible on the following day, the airlines must also ensure hotel accommodation and meals. Passengers can terminate the transport contract and apply for a refund if the trip is no longer useful the next day, like Anwalt.de Explained.

In the event of a serious circumvention of the replacement transportation, a compensation payment of 250 to 600 euros per person can be due. The same applies to package travelers who should also inform their tour operator directly if the transport does not take place as planned.

It remains to be seen how the situation at Cologne/Bonn Airport will develop in the coming days. However, it is clear that the challenges in air traffic are reinforced by lack of personnel and strikes, which significantly limits the predictability for travelers.

Details
Quellen