Cologne/Bonn Airport has suspended operations due to a malfunction in the security equipment, affecting thousands of passengers.

On Friday morning, Cologne/Bonn Airport in Germany suspended operations for several hours due to a security incident caused by a malfunction of the new security equipment. The alert led to the evacuation of the control areas in both terminals, affecting thousands of passengers.

The malfunction was caused by a CT scanner that detected suspicious objects in a passenger's luggage, but the warning message was not properly handled by the security staff. As a result, the suspicious bag was handed back to the passenger without being checked. The federal police evacuated the security area and halted departing flights, and the searches lasted over two hours. Although check-in operations have resumed, the use of old equipment will delay the passenger screening process.