When we say "Cologne airport", we make a mistake. After all, this harbor also serves those passengers who fly to the former capital of Germany - the city of Bonn. This is a rather old hub, famous for its history of the first experiments in aeronautics. Its official name is Konrad Adenauer International Airport Cologne-Bonn. And it is located exactly between these two cities. If we draw a line on the map from Cologne to Bonn, the airport will be east of this line. In Germany (for the comfort of residents), many air harbors are closed at night, since all flights operate during the day. But Cologne-Bonn Airport is one of the few that operate around the clock. In terms of passenger traffic, it is the sixth in Germany. And in terms of freight transportation, it ranks second in the country. In this article, we will talk about how to get from the center of Cologne to the airport, how to get from it to Bonn. We will describe the terminals of the air harbor and the services in them.
History
At the beginning of the century, a military training base was organized on the territory of the Waner-Heide Nature Park, in the southeast of Cologne. The first flights were made before the First World War. In the thirty-ninth year, a modest site was converted into a full-fledged military airfield. Luftwaffe attack aircraft flew from here to the Western Front. After the end of World War II, the British took control of the airfield. They reconstructed some objects, expanded the territory. In the fifty-first year, it was decided to convert the air force base into a civilian airport. Especially for this, an almost two-kilometer asph alt strip was built. In the sixties, Cologne Airport acquired two more runways and a terminal building. The first heavy Boeing 747 aircraft operating a transatlantic flight from New York was received by the air harbor in 1970.
Modern airport life
Passengers are served by three terminals: two - regular and one for private flights and VIP trips. A feature of the airport of Cologne and Bonn is that it accepts low-cost flights. Usually in large cities there is a separate hub serving budget airlines. But Cologne Airport accepts Jemanwings and Toofly, Wizzair and Easy Jet aircraft. Such a low service pricing policy has attracted many other shipping companies to the harbor. Reviews claim that both terminals are next to each other. T1 occupies a building from the seventies. Directlybelow it is a railway station. The second terminal is located in a modern building, which was made in the same architectural style. From afar, the airport resembles a white ocean liner. In 2004, he acquired the Intercity-Express high-speed train station, which connects Cologne with Frankfurt. She, according to reviews, is located on the underground level T1. Every year, the air harbor receives about ten million passengers.
Scoreboard airport Cologne - Bonn
To understand the two terminals, tourists comfort, is not difficult. Before entering each one, it is written which companies are served here. Passengers of Lufthansa and its subsidiary Jemanwings are waiting for the first terminal. There is also a check-in for the flight "Austrian Airlines" and "Eurowings". In the first terminal, passengers arriving from St. Petersburg and the capital Vnukovo are dropped off. The new building serves the rest of the shipping companies. There are a lot of them, besides, in summer charter flights join them, taking tourists to the shores of the Red Sea, to the resorts of Turkey and the islands of Greece.
Services
In both terminals of the Cologne-Bonn airport there are restaurants, bars and cafes, boutiques and shops, a first-aid post, bank branches, cash dispensers, a post office. The air harbor has its own conference hall and business center. The airport buildings are located in a horseshoe, inside which there is a huge parking lot. A transfer at Cologne Airport will be more than pleasant. Indeed, in the transit zone of the terminals, time flies unnoticed. There is Wi-Fi, duty-free shops. Reviews say that you can buy good quality alcohol and perfumes there. Upon departure, you can apply for a VAT refund in both terminals. In T1, the taxi-free counter is located at the customs office next to the screening area. You can go there only with a boarding pass for terminal No. 1. In the second building, the taxi-free office is located immediately behind the check-in counters in Hall D. But if you have a flight at night, you will not be able to issue a VAT refund. The office is open from 5 am to 9 pm. When refunding VAT in cash, regardless of the amount of tax, a fee of three euros will be charged.
Cologne Airport: how to get to the city center
How to overcome these fifteen kilometers? A taxi ride (the parking lots of this transport are located at the departure zone T1 and the arrival hall T2) will cost you twenty-seven euros. The fastest way to get to Cologne is by train express. Its station is located under the first terminal. Trains depart every five to ten minutes. You will be at Cologne main station in less than a quarter of an hour. If you are not interested in the Hofbahnhof, take the suburban train to the city. At both terminals, look for a sign that says S-Bahn. They will lead you to the station of these trains. You need number thirteen. The ticket price is two euros and sixty cents. To the main railway station, which is located in the very center of the city, next to the Cologne Cathedral, you can also get a ride on a special bus "Airport Express Bus" No. 161 or 670. It costs two euros and twenty cents.
How to get to Bonn
Cologne Airport is seventeen kilometers away from this city, but the highway winds, and therefore a taxi ride will cost forty euros. Bus SB60 goes to the main station in Bonn. The ticket price in it is six and a half euros. A trip on the regional train RE 11389 will not take you to the center of Bonn. You will only get to the station of Boyle, on the east bank of the Rhine. Then you will need to transfer to tram number 62. The total travel time is about forty-five minutes. If you accidentally got on the wrong transport and stopped in Cologne, it doesn’t matter. Reviews say that trams run between the two cities (numbers sixteen and eighteen). A ticket must be bought in the corresponding zone and validated in the car.
