Following the precedent set by the Romanians, three Britons ran after the plane, also on the runway of the Cologne airport

The police in Germany reported on Tuesday a second incident in which delayed passengers ran after the plane on the runway of the airport in Cologne, after the precedent set on Friday by the Romanians who wanted to catch the plane to Bucharest, informs dpa.

A police spokesman said on Tuesday that three British citizens who wanted to return to their country had opened an emergency exit on Saturday, triggering the alarm. They were later stopped by security personnel.

The German authorities announced on Monday that two Romanians broke the window of an emergency exit and ran down the runway to catch the Wizz Air plane bound for Bucharest. The incident with the Romanians who fled on the runway took place on Friday evening, according to the German publication Welt.

A criminal procedure has already started against the Romanians for unauthorized entry.

The three British nationals have not yet been charged, but an airport spokesman said opening emergency doors without a valid reason is prohibited.

The airport reserves the right to take legal action and is reviewing available options, it said.

Neither group was able to board in the end.

A police spokesman said the fact that the incidents happened on consecutive days was “undoubtedly remarkable”.

Plane witness: “Many arrived at the last minute or not at all”

A passenger on the plane to Bucharest told the Observer that the boarding procedure was faulty.

“Unfortunately, I understand their desperation. We were also on that plane and boarding was done at the last minute. At 20:50 (the gate closed at 21:00), I think there were 20% of the passengers at the gate. Why? Because we stood like sheep at the drop-off for an hour because they didn't bother to send a person to the counter. It wasn't until 19:00 (I repeat, boarding closed at 21) they opened the baggage drop-off desk and the last people left their bags at around 19:45. They were moving incredibly slowly,” he said.

The passenger explained that the security check was also a major obstacle.

“They ate up an hour of our time at the huge queue at the turnstiles and security control. Only one queue for 5-6 flights. In vain we came to the airport early, also by an hour and a little we sat in the queue at the security control. Effectively we ran to catch the plane. We were lucky that being with the little girl we crossed the first queue, the one at the passport scan, entering the special aisle for children. But then we waited 40-50 minutes to go through the very thorough check. But those who couldn't skip the first line arrived at the last moment or not at all. So you could come 15 hours before, if you had luggage to leave, you had every chance to miss the plane,” said the passenger.