Two travellers have been arrested for attempting to chase down a plane on the tarmac after being too late for boarding in Germany.
The men, 28 and 47, attempted to flag down the plane on the runway at Cologne Bonn Airport on Friday.
German police said that the B70 gate had already closed, and that the men had smashed the glass of an emergency alarm at 9.33pm to press a button to open the door to the tarmac.
The Wizz Air flight bound for Romania was seen with flashing red lights on and its engine running, suggesting it was preparing to taxi for its 9.30pm takeoff.
The two men seemed to signal to the pilot that they wanted to board the plane before an airport employee approached the men and intervened.
Moment when two Romanian men ran onto the runway to try to catch a Wizz Air Airbus A321 flight to Bucharest at Cologne/Bonn Airport. They broke through a restricted area, waved at the plane. 👀
— Udoka (@AgbomUdoka) November 24, 2025
pic.twitter.com/TZHjjjjDrp
Fortunately, the plane still managed to depart a few moments later and landed as scheduled in Bucharest.
Federal police spokesperson Oliver Hünewinckell told German newspaper Bild: “Criminal charges for trespassing have been filed against the men; a violation of the Air Security Act is still being investigated”.
A spokesperson for Cologne Bonn airport told the newspaper: “We can confirm that on Friday evening, two passengers gained unauthorised access to the apron via an emergency exit after passing through security.
“The two were apprehended by airport staff and handed over to the Federal Police. Cologne/Bonn Airport has initiated legal proceedings.
“Aviation security at the airport was never compromised, and flight operations were not affected.
This comes after a passenger on a Ryanair flight locked himself in the toilet and yelled homophobic abuse at staff after they took too long to bring him his sandwich.
On Monday, Dublin District Court heard how Gerard Moorehouse, 45, had delayed landing for several minutes and compromised flight safety on the August 15 flight from London Gatwick to Dublin.
The father of two told the court that he needed to use the bathroom due to bowel issues and alleged he was discriminated against by cabin crew for being a Traveller on the flight.
The court also heard how Moorehouse had used his call bell multiple times before the cabin crew were able to take his food order.
They informed a “demanding” Moorehouse, of Piercetown, Newbridge, Co Kildare, that his toastie would take 10-15 minutes, when he reportedly became “aggressive and hostile”, asking two cabin crew members, “Are you gay?”
One member of Ryanair staff told the court: ''I tried to reason with him, but it didn't work. He called us f****ts multiple times and told us to f**k off.
“He verbally threatened me, saying there would be a fight if he did not get his sandwich now.”
Moorehouse was found guilty of threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour on an aircraft and was given a three-month suspended sentence and ordered to pay a €1,500 fine.
