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Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN): flight delays and compensation

Cologne Bonn Airport. As an EU airport, every flight departing from here is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004. Here is what to expect if your flight was delayed or cancelled here, or you were stranded.

By the EU261 Flight Delay editorial team Last reviewed: Reading time: 6 min How we write our guides

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In short: Any flight departing from Cologne Bonn Airport that arrives 3 or more hours late, is cancelled less than 14 days before departure, or is overbooked can give €250–600 per passenger. Departures: EU261 with any airline.

Live at Cologne (CGN) today

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About the airport

Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN) serves Cologne, Germany. On the routes Eurostat reports, 8,891,808 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 55th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Antalya, Palma de Mallorca, Istanbul, Munich.

Every flight departing from here is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004, whatever the airline. Flights arriving here are covered if they depart from the EU, or if an EU airline operates them from outside the EU.

Busiest routes from Cologne – and what a delay is worth

The 30 busiest routes on Eurostat’s 2024 data, with the compensation for a 3-hour-plus delay or a late cancellation in each direction.

DestinationPassengers 2024DistanceFrom CGNReturn
Antalya AYT1,022,4892,432 km€400€400*
Palma de Mallorca PMI977,5791,304 km€250€250
Istanbul SAW675,4522,030 km€400€400*
Munich MUC495,205436 km€250€250
Vienna VIE392,438746 km€250€250
London STN330,032492 km€250£220
London LHR313,521534 km€250£220
Barcelona BCN293,5191,133 km€250€250
Berlin BER252,037469 km€250€250
Istanbul IST236,5891,966 km€400€400*
Izmir ADB230,1342,101 km€400€400*
Milan BGY176,895608 km€250€250
Málaga AGP175,1231,829 km€400€400
Lisbon LIS159,1321,850 km€400€400
Rome FCO157,0031,081 km€250€250
Alicante ALC149,8161,524 km€400€400
Crete HER134,0082,251 km€400€400
Gran Canaria LPA129,0343,175 km€400€400
Manchester MAN126,791700 km€250£220
Fuerteventura FUE118,9593,050 km€400€400
Zurich ZRH115,778392 km€250€250
Tenerife TFS111,4993,224 km€400€400
Bologna BLQ98,523769 km€250€250
Faro FAO96,5221,951 km€400€400
Sofia SOF88,8901,531 km€400€400
Ankara ESB86,6482,324 km€400€400*
Valencia VLC80,4531,397 km€250€250
Zadar ZAD77,672972 km€250€250
Porto OPO76,9401,617 km€400€400
Venice VCE75,568710 km€250€250

* only with an EU (or UK) airline. Passengers: Eurostat, both directions, routes reported by EU/EEA airports.

Air traffic flow delays at Cologne Bonn (2025)

EUROCONTROL records the delay imposed on arriving flights when the airport or the airspace around it cannot take more traffic (air traffic flow management, “ATFM”). In 2025, 58,532 flights arrived at CGN; 2,318 of them were held back this way, 785 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.56 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • aerodrome capacity72%
  • weather21%
  • other3%
  • equipment (non-ATC)2%
  • equipment (ATC)1%
  • ATC capacity1%

Average ATFM delay per arrival by month (min)

  1. J
  2. F
  3. M
  4. A
  5. M
  6. J
  7. J
  8. A
  9. S
  10. O
  11. N
  12. D

Worst days: 23 October 2025 – 2,347 minutes, mostly weather; 31 July 2025 – 847 minutes, mostly other; 16 October 2025 – 774 minutes, mostly aerodrome capacity.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 43,407 arrivals, 0.52 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025), mainly aerodrome capacity (74%) and weather (22%).

Check what happened at CGN on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (21% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (4%) or airport limits – causes airlines often cite as extraordinary circumstances. They are only part of the story: most long delays come from the airline’s own operation (technical faults, crew, late inbound aircraft), which this data does not show. Source: EUROCONTROL.

Typical delay causes at Cologne Bonn Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 58,532 arrivals at CGN in 2025; 2,318 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 785 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was aerodrome capacity (72%); weather accounted for 21%.
  • The worst day was 23 October 2025, with 2,347 minutes of flow delay, mostly weather.
  • Most long delays that earn compensation are not flow delays but airline problems – technical faults, crew shortages and late inbound aircraft – which do not count as extraordinary circumstances.

Airlines you are likely to fly with here

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    What happened?Step 1 of 4

    What happened to your flight?
    Where did you fly from and to?

    With a connection, enter your first departure and your final destination – compensation is based on the total distance.

    How late did you arrive at your final destination?

    What counts is when the aircraft doors opened at your destination – not the departure delay.

    When were you told about the cancellation?
    When did you arrive on the replacement flight?
    Which airline operated the flight?
    When was the flight?

    How many passengers were on the booking?

    1 passenger

    Every passenger gets their own compensation, children too. Infants under 2 without their own seat do not count.

    • Free, no sign-up
    • Fee only if successful (35%)
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    Rather skip the questions? Start a claim with AirHelp straight away

    Local information

    • Ask the airline staff at the gate for the reason for the delay or cancellation and write it down; take a photo of the departure board.
    • From 2 hours’ delay (depending on distance) the airline must give you meals and drinks, and a hotel if you are stuck overnight – keep the receipts if you had to pay yourself.
    • If the airline rejects your claim, complain to the national enforcement body of the country where the flight departed (or arrived, for flights from outside the EU), or go to court.

    Frequently asked questions

    Can I claim compensation for a flight departing from Cologne Bonn Airport?

    Yes. CGN is an EU airport, so every flight departing from it is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004, whatever the airline and wherever it is based.

    Can I claim compensation for a flight arriving at Cologne Bonn Airport?

    If the flight departed from an EU airport: yes, with any airline. If it departed from the UK: yes, under UK261, with any airline. If it departed from elsewhere: only if an EU airline operated it.

    How is the length of the delay measured?

    By your arrival time at your final destination – more precisely, the moment the aircraft door opens at the gate. It must be at least 3 hours after the scheduled arrival time.

    Related guides

    Information only, not legal advice. Passenger figures are approximate and based on the airports' published statistics; punctuality figures are from the UK Civil Aviation Authority. We earn a commission when a claim submitted through our partner links is successful.

    Sources

    1. Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
    2. EUROCONTROL – airport arrival ATFM delays (open performance data) – EUROCONTROL

    We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.