There is playing check-in chicken and then there is sprinting across an active runway to try and board your plane with its engines running.
Two men shocked onlookers by trying to board their flight moments before take off.
The desperate holidaymakers were seen at Cologne Bonn airport in Germany running across an active runway on Friday, towards a Wizz Air plane bound for Bucharest.
Footage showed them approaching the Airbus A321 jet – amazingly, totally unchecked – after the plane had left its gate and already had its engines running.
Eventually, a member of airport staff walked out and intervened, but not before the men reached the front of the plane and started gesticulating at the cockpit, seemingly trying to get the pilot to stop.
The men, aged 28 and 47, had missed the flight bound for Bucharest, Romania, on Friday.
A spokesperson for the airport said: ‘We can confirm that on Friday evening two passengers gained unauthorised access to the apron through an emergency exit after passing through security.’
Officials said the flight’s crew were telling them to go back. Eventually, after they were detained by airport staff, they were handed over to German police.
Oliver Hunewinckell, a spokesperson for the Federal Police, said: ‘Criminal proceedings for trespassing have been initiated against the men.
‘A violation of the Air Security Act is still being investigated.’
The plane was briefly delayed, but only took off 17 minutes behind schedule and eventually landed in Bucharest early after making up the delay during the flight.
Reports said there were delays at the airport’s security gates earlier in the day because of construction work, which led to longer-than-usual queues.
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