Travel boom at the end of the holiday: Over 300,000 passengers at NRW airports!

Travel boom at the end of the holiday: Over 300,000 passengers at NRW airports!

On the last day of the Easter holiday hype, the airports are very busy at the airports Cologne/Bonn and Düsseldorf. On Sunday, April 26, 2025, around 34,000 passengers are expected at Cologne/Bonn Airport, which makes the day for the top day of the holiday season at the airport. From Friday to Sunday, Cologne/Bonn GmbH Airport expects around 97,000 travelers. In comparison, Düsseldorf Airport expects more than 209,000 passengers over the entire weekend. Both airports have an increase in passenger numbers by about 20 percent compared to the previous year.

According to T-Online, over 1.1 million travelers were counted at Düsseldorf Airport, while more than 500,000 passengers were registered at Cologne Airport. This increase clearly shows how busy travel in North Rhine-Westphalia has grown in recent years.

Review of the development of passenger numbers

The positive developments at Cologne Bonn Airport are not new. In 2024, according to the official Köln Bonn Airport , more than 10 million passengers were counted. This is the first crossing of the 10 million mark since 2019. The continuous increase in travelers, after the end of Corona pandemic, is clear: 8.8 million in 2022, 9.8 million in 2023 and over 10 million in 2024 (+3%).

popular travel destinations have been tourist places in the sun, especially Antalya and Palma de Mallorca, but also big cities such as Istanbul and London. Thilo Schmid, the chairman of the management of Köln/Bonn GmbH Airport, expressed optimistic about the future development of travel, which is expected to continue to reach over 10 million passengers next year.

The influence of corona pandemic and catching up to do

Although there are positive developments, around 2 million passengers are still missing compared to the preliminary crisis level of 2019. High state costs and a reduced range of domestic traffic play an important role here. In the freight business, around 840,000 tons were also handled in 2024, which almost corresponds to the volume of 2019 (815,000 tons).

In view of 2025, an increase in passenger volume is expected to be expected to increase 10.6 million, while the freight business is to increase to 850,000 tons. The future of the Cologne Bonn Airport promises growth again, which is supported not least by the increasing travel options after the long -lasting pandemic.

In the broader perspective, it can be seen that the total number of airports worldwide is according to Kleine Zeitung . Over 46,000 airports are recorded in the Community database Ourairports.com. There are 7,289 airports and places in Europe alone. These figures illustrate the great competition and the challenges that airports, including Cologne/Bonn.

It remains to be seen how the traveler patterns will develop in the coming years. The factors mentioned and the general economic situation could be crucial for future passenger demand and the general development of the airport.