Hello everyone 
is anybody here with the experience of traveling from the Cologne Airport to London recently and could describe what the procedures look like there?
Thank you!
Can’t speak from experience, but I’m pretty sure it will be like travelling to and from any european city airports?
Have you heard something to make you think otherwise?
I mean beacause of Brexit it cannot be the same as flying to Spain for instance
I flew from an EU city to Gatwick not too long ago and walked right through, didn’t have to speak to anyone. Don´t think I had to show my passport either. However, they were overly meticulous about having all liquids in small plastic bags on the way back.
1 Like
The only difference now is that you’ll go through passport control leaving Germany as well as entering the UK.
You must have passed an e-gate then, where your passport got scanned:
“You put the photo page of your passport on the scanner and look into the camera. The system checks that it is a valid passport and that you are the owner. The gates open and you are typically through in about 15 seconds flat from the start of the process.”
The e-gate system was down for one evening two weeks or so ago, which caused enormous queues. Nationwide.
Yes, but it seems that different airports handle it differently, some have e-gates and some not and I want to know how it is at the aiport Cologne/Bonn specifically!!!
The e-gates and passport control is on arrival in U.K.
Your airline will also check your passport when you check in for your flight at the airport Cologne/Bonn.
It is the same system at all UK international airport points of entry, I think.
The outage affected all of these: “Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol airports all confirmed problems with passengers being processed through the border on Tuesday.”
And certainly, it does not matter where you started from (outside the UK).
(I arrived by ferry, and there I spoke with a border official.)
A couple of weeks ago we flew from Rome FCO (EU) to London Heathrow LHR (non EU) on Australian passports. We used the eGate scanning and didn’t have to speak to anyone. It took ages for our bags to come off the plane to baggage collection so if you’re in a hurry to exit LHR then take carry on only. Trains and underground rail (tube) are the best way to leave LHR, quick and easy.
Possibly. Don’t even remember. Didn’t pay attention. However, I was expecting a bit more than what it was. But maybe those times are over. Even in Seoul, you walk right through from the plane to the e-gates and out if you register online first, which was a very positive surprise to me. The whole thing takes 5-10 minutes depending on how fast you walk.
1 Like
No matter where you are flying from in Europe, if you have an EU passport and are entering the UK, the process is the same - you will simply go through e-gates. I have not been to that exact airport in Cologne, but it should be no different than any other EU airport when it comes to passport control. They scan your passport when you check-in, you board the plane, you get off the plane in the UK, you go through a passport e-gate, and you’re in the UK. It is really no different than flying anywhere else in Europe - nothing has changed 
2 Likes
True in some sense, as the UK never was in Schengen.
But still Brexit makes a big difference, especially for sitters. You cannot come to the UK to work anymore, which is why you want to avoid mentioning petsitting.
And there is a time limit. And no cheap data roaming anymore.
What I meant was, nothing has changed in terms of the arrival process
This is a major inconvenience for me. I dislike it more than anything else.
90/180 day rule will apply i would imagine. Check out official guidance on your governments website for peace of mind
Contact Cologne/Bonn airport for the best advice
The 90/180 applies only to Schengen countries .
U.K. is not part of the Schengen Agreement.
Apologies, i assume it was the same regulations travelling the other way.
1 Like