Flight operations at Cologne/Bonn Airport were briefly suspended on Friday after a security incident.

Federal police said departures had to be suspended, before being resumed a short time later, because the secure area needed to be closed off. Arrivals were not affected by the closure and were able to continue as normal.

Why did Cologne/Bonn Airport stop flights?

A spokesperson said the security screening checkpoint was shut at 6:37 a.m., and Terminal 1 and 2 security zones were cleared as a precautionary measure. There was apparently no immediate danger to life or the safety of passengers or staff.

Police could not initially provide details about the incident because investigations were still ongoing, the spokesperson said.

According to German public broadcaster WDR, new baggage scanners installed the previous day were at fault. They have since been taken out of service. 

WDR reported that employees had identified suspicious items in a bag. These items were clearly flagged as potentially dangerous on the security monitors, and the bag should have been removed from the system.

However, instead of directing the bag to a separate conveyor belt for further inspection, the hand luggage was passed along the conveyor belt back to the passenger. The unknown person took the bag and disappeared further into the secure area. Federal police launched a search for the passenger and the luggage.

The airport reopened in the late morning. "Passengers are now streaming back into the security screening area, being checked again, and can then continue their journeys," a federal police spokesperson said.

An airport spokesperson said departures had been impossible for around two and a half hours, affecting about a dozen flights and some 800 passengers. Those flights are now expected to be delayed, though no cancellations have been reported so far.

Edited by: Sean Sinico