Overview

Köln/Bonn is a complex airport with crossing runways and very little space on the ground and in the TMA. On VATSIM, it usually has a medium amount of traffic but will regularly operate at or even above capacity during events.

Köln/Bonn is an unrestricted airport. DEL and GND are unrestricted and can be staffed by all controllers with an S1 rating or higher who have passed the required moodle courses. TWR position requires the EDDK_TWR Tier 1 endorsement which can be acquired by all controllers with an S2 rating or higher. All radar positions require the EDDK_APP Tier 1 endorsement which can be acquired by all controllers with an S3 rating or higher.

Due to the high amount of complexity of the airport, it is highly recommended that S1-rated controllers have gained a great deal of experience at other unrestricted airports before staffing positions at Köln/Bonn.

Training: Controllers with the S1 rating can staff TWR during their training (active EDDK_TWR solo endorsement required). Controllers with the S2 rating can staff APP positions during their training (active EDDK_APP solo endorsement required).

With AIRAC 2404, the runway designators in Köln/Bonn were changed from 14/32 to 13/31. This can cause issues for pilots using MSFS if they are using AIRAC 2404 or later but have a scenery with the old designators as they will not be able to select certain runway-specific procedures such as the SID in their FMS. If a pilot reports this issue, please refer them to this addon which will allow them to select runway-specific procedures even with an outdated scenery.
Whenever possible, controllers should find workarounds that do not require pilots to restart their simulator, e.g. using a conventional SID to NVO or WYP, potentially followed by radar vectors.

Köln/Bonn ATC Stations

Staffing of Apron (DKGP/EDDK_P_GND) is currently prohibited.

Controlzone

Cologne-Bonn Controlzone (D-CTR) - © openflightmaps.org