Cologne Bonn Airport

Cologne Bonn Airport is located in the districts of Wahn and Porz, 12 kilometers southeast of Cologne and 16 kilometers northeast of Bonn in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The facility was constructed in 1939 for the German Luftwaffe. Following World War II, the British military assumed control of the site, operating it as RAF Wahn (B-119) and expanding the infrastructure. Between 1946 and 1957, the base hosted various Royal Air Force units, including 2, 4, 11, 14, 17, 21, 68, 69, 87, 98, 107, 128, 180, and 305 Squadrons. The airport opened to civilian air traffic in 1950.

The site is a joint public and military facility operated by Flughafen Köln/Bonn GmbH. The German Air Force Executive Transport Wing is based on the southwestern side of the airport, adjacent to the Wahn Air Force Barracks. The Canadian Forces utilize the airport as an operational support hub and staging area for troop and supply movements in support of humanitarian and anti-terrorism missions. Training centers for the German (DLR) and European (EAC) astronaut programs are located at the site.

The 1,000-hectare facility includes two passenger terminals. Terminal 1, opened in 1970, utilizes a u-shaped design with star-shaped piers, while Terminal 2, opened in 2000, is a glass and steel structure. The airport serves as a logistics hub for UPS Airlines and FedEx Express. An Airbus A300 ZERO-G aircraft, previously used by the DLR for research, has been stationed at the airport as a museum exhibit since 2015.

In 2018, Eurowings transferred its long-haul operations and four Airbus A330 aircraft to Düsseldorf Airport. In 2024, Wizz Air announced the termination of all routes from the facility. That same year, passenger traffic returned to pre-pandemic levels, exceeding 10 million passengers.