Plane spotting in Cologne/Bonn: cargo traffic, night flights and the best spots

At midday, Eurowings Airbuses and leisure jets taxi to the runway, in the evening the big UPS and FedEx freighters float in, and on the west apron stand the gray-and-white jets of the German government flight service (Flugbereitschaft). Plane spotting in Cologne/Bonn is different from Frankfurt or Munich: less long haul, but a mix of passenger, cargo and military traffic that you get at hardly any other German airport. This guide shows you the most important spots, the right light for each runway and how to plan the evening cargo wave.

Cologne/Bonn in brief: what makes the airport special for spotters

Cologne/Bonn Airport (IATA CGN, ICAO EDDK) lies about twelve kilometers southeast of downtown Cologne on the edge of the Wahner Heide. It grew out of a Luftwaffe airbase from 1938 and was later the government airport of the Bonn Republic. Its present character is shaped by a decision from 1986: UPS made Cologne/Bonn its hub for Europe. Since then, CGN has been above all a cargo airport that also works at night.

For you as a spotter, that means: during the day you mainly see narrowbody jets, and widebody aircraft you see mainly as freighters or on the military apron. Since Eurowings moved its long-haul operations to Düsseldorf with the 2018 winter schedule, long haul plays hardly any role in passenger traffic in Cologne.

The runway system: 13L/31R, 13R/31L and 06/24

If you want to understand Cologne/Bonn, you need to know the three runways. The main runway 13L/31R is 3,815 meters long and carries most of the traffic, from the A320 to the fully loaded 747-8F. To the west of it lies the short parallel runway 13R/31L at 1,863 meters, next to the military area. In the north, the crosswind runway 06/24 at 2,459 meters crosses.

Runway	Length	Role	Relevance for spotters
13L/31R	3,815 m	main runway, most movements	almost all cargo and scheduled landings, most spots aim here
13R/31L	1,863 m	short parallel runway in the west	mainly smaller aircraft and business jets
06/24	2,459 m	crosswind runway in the north	depending on wind; landings on 06 are rare and therefore sought after

Be careful when reading older reports: until April 18, 2024, the parallel runways were called 14L/32R and 14R/32L. Because the Earth’s magnetic field slowly shifts, they were renamed. Why runways carry numbers at all is explained in the article Runway designations at airports.

The wind decides which direction is flown. With the frequent westerly weather patterns, operations usually run toward the northwest on 31, less often on 24. If the wind shifts to the east, landings are on 13 or 06. You will find the basics in Understanding the runway direction in use at an airport, and the guide to Windy and other weather maps gives you the forecast the evening before.

The best spots at Cologne/Bonn Airport

Spotter guides describe about twenty vantage points around the airfield. The following cover the typical situations. The information on light and access comes from spotter guides and the terrace’s profile; on site, what the signage says always applies.

Observation deck on Terminal 1

The classic and the best starting point. The observation deck is on the roof of Terminal 1, free and accessible without a security check. Spotter portals give opening hours of 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. The main platform is glazed, but a staircase takes you to an open upper level – that is where you want to be. The southern part is closed off.

From above you see landings on 13L, late takeoffs on 31R, the Terminal 2 apron and, with a long focal length, landings on 13R. To the west you look at the military apron. You have good light from midday until sunset; in the morning you shoot into the sun.

Departures forecourt at the terminal

If the terrace is closed or you are out at night: from the upper forecourt you look over the railing at apron Alpha, where freighters and Eurowings jets park. Spotter guides name freighters from Cargojet and Star Air here, among others. For the light, early morning and evening are suitable, and at night the backlight problem disappears completely. Follow the rules for the forecourt area and don’t block any paths.

Parking garage P3

The top deck of the parking garage north of Terminal 2 is the fallback spot when the terrace is closed. From there you see landings on 13L and takeoffs on 31R from fairly high up, plus the Terminal 2 apron. Parking costs a fee, and in summer the air above the apron shimmers heavily.

Field at the Paradeplatz parking lot

From the Paradeplatz parking lot on Alte Kölner Straße, a short path leads to a field west of the approach axis. Here you photograph landings on 13L from midday without a ladder. In the morning, with 500 millimeters and more, you get the business jets on approach to 13R. The field is surrounded by an electric fence – stay on the forest paths.

Fence spots east of the main runway

Along the fence between the parking lots at Rösrather Weg, Brandweg and the radar tower, there are several vantage points for landings and line-ups on 13L all the way to the touchdown point. This side is a morning spot: light from sunrise until about midday. You usually need a ladder here, and you keep emergency access roads at the fence clear. You should rather avoid the parking lot at the radar tower after dark.

Wahner Heide: 31R approaches and 13L takeoffs

In the southeast, paths through the Wahner Heide lead to the fence near the 31R threshold and to points on Kaiserweg. The walks take 15 to 50 minutes, depending on the point. Since 2021, signs in parts of the area prohibit leaving the marked paths, and according to spotter guides this is enforced. Because the terrain was used militarily, walking cross-country there is not only prohibited but also risky.

Crosswind runway 06/24

The rare crosswind runway has its own spots: on Alte Kölner Straße for landings on 24 on a summer evening and on the street “Im Bruch” for landings on 06. The latter are rare – a clear case for live data instead of gut feeling.

Light and time of day: which spot works when

The main runway runs from northwest to southeast. A simple rule follows from that: west of the runway – terminals, parking garage, the field at Paradeplatz – you stand well from midday, east of it in the morning. How to plan this more precisely for every date is shown in Planning the sun position.

Spot	Runways / subject	Best light	Ladder
Observation deck T1	13L landings, apron, military apron	midday to sunset	no
Departures forecourt	apron Alpha, parked freighters	early morning, evening, night	no
Parking garage P3	13L, 31R, apron T2	midday to sunset	no
Field at Paradeplatz	13L landings, 13R with super-telephoto	13L from midday, 13R in the morning	no
Fence east (Rösrather Weg to radar tower)	13L landings and line-ups	sunrise to early midday	usually yes
Alte Kölner Straße	24 landings	summer evening	no
Im Bruch	06 landings	sunrise to afternoon	no

Cargo traffic: the heart of CGN

No other part of the traffic makes Cologne/Bonn as special. UPS Airlines has operated its most important European hub here since 1986, and FedEx Express its hub for Central and Eastern Europe since 2010. DHL moved most of its business to Leipzig in 2007, but opened a new logistics center in Cologne/Bonn again in 2019. How the three integrators work is explained in the article Express integrators DHL, FedEx and UPS.

Types you can look out for:

• Boeing 747-8F in the brown UPS colors – the biggest chunk CGN regularly sees.
• Boeing 777F from FedEx.
• Boeing 767-300F and 757F as workhorses in the European network – how to tell the two apart is in Telling the Boeing 757 and 767 apart.
• McDonnell Douglas MD-11 – formerly an everyday sight in Cologne. UPS retired the type after the crash of one of its own freighters in November 2025, and FedEx is bringing its aircraft back gradually after the flight ban was lifted. As of October 2026, an MD-11 at CGN is more a matter of luck.

The guide Recognizing cargo aircraft gives an all-round view of the features of freighters.

Night flights: spotting when other airports sleep

Cologne/Bonn has no general night flight ban. A separate night flight regulation applies, which has been extended to 2030. For express traffic, that is decisive: the aircraft arrive in the evening, the shipments are sorted at night, and the second wave takes off early in the morning. How strict other airports are is shown in Night flight bans at German airports.

For you, that means two things. In summer, the first cargo arrivals are still in the evening light, so you have the best chance of clean daytime pictures. In winter, the cargo wave takes place almost completely in the dark. Night shots on the apron are then worthwhile: from the departures forecourt you have no backlight, and the lit freighters in front of the terminal are rewarding subjects for long exposures. Technique and settings for this are in Photographing aircraft at night, and recognizing aircraft by their position lights in Recognizing aircraft at night.

Passenger traffic and military

During the day, Eurowings shapes the picture, with Airbus A319, A320 and A321. Ryanair joins with the Boeing 737-800 and the 737 MAX 8. Turkey traffic is strong: Pegasus, SunExpress, Turkish Airlines and Corendon you see often, mainly in summer.

The military part is in the west of the grounds. This is home to the Ministry of Defense’s government flight service (Flugbereitschaft), with the Airbus A350-900, A321 and business jets, among others. Since 2020, the multinational NATO tanker unit with the Airbus A330 MRTT has also used the airfield. From the terrace you look west at this apron; with a long focal length, you pull the aircraft in closer. Spotting government aircraft provides more background.

Getting there and planning

By train, CGN is hard to beat: Köln/Bonn Flughafen station lies underground between the terminals, served by S 19, RE 6, RB 27 and ICE. From Cologne Central Station, you need about eleven minutes by Regional-Express. For the fence spots around the main runway, on the other hand, you need a car or bike; the parking lots on Alte Kölner Straße and Rösrather Weg are the usual starting points.

If you want to explore the region further: Düsseldorf is only about 60 kilometers to the north and, with long haul and its own terrace, offers the counterpart – see Plane spotting in Düsseldorf. If you want to experience cargo even more intensely, head to Leipzig/Halle or to the spotter spot at Liège Airport.

Conclusion

Cologne/Bonn rewards spotters who plan their day. The observation deck is a comfortable entry with the train station directly beneath it, the field and fence spots around the main runway deliver the tighter pictures, and in the evening cargo traffic takes over, which sets CGN apart from almost all other German airports. If you think wind, light and time of day together, you come home here with 747-8Fs, 777Fs, government jets and Eurowings special liveries in a single day.