All-time high traffic in Romanian airports in H1 2018: passenger numbers rose 7.5 pct to 9.9 mln due to international flights; domestic traffic down 0,4 pct

The 16 airports in Romania have posted a 7.5 percent increase in passenger numbers in the first half of this year, to 9.94 million, an all-time high due to international flights, while domestic passenger traffic slightly declined, according to figures released by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).

Total passenger numbers on the Romanian airports have increased from 9.25 million in H1 2017 to 9.94 million in H1 2018.

International passenger traffic rose by 8.8 percent year-on-year, to 8.61 million, and the number of passengers carried with domestic flights declined by 0.4 percent, to 1.331 million, official data show.

Romania’s biggest airport, Henri Coandă International Airport (Otopeni), controlled by the state-owned National Company Aeroporturi București, posted an increase of its total passenger traffic by 7 percent in the first half of this year to a record-high 6.33 million.

The second airport in Romania by passenger traffic is Cluj Napoca International Airport, with 1.297 million passengers in H1 2018 (+6.3 percent year-on-year), followed by Timișoara International Airport (730,934, -4.3 percent) and Iași International Airport (524,019, +2.7 percent).

Read more about

The Emerging Threat of AI-driven Browser Exploits

read more

In 2017, Romanian airports have posted a 23.3 percent increase in passenger numbers, to 20.2 million, a all-time high due to both international and domestic flights.

Airport passenger numbers have soared in Romania in the last few years due to income rise, cheap flights offered by low-cost companies and poor infrastructure across the country.

In the last couple of years, low-cost companies like Wizz Air, Blueair and Ryanair entered domestic flights market in Romania, controlled for years by the state-owned Tarom, trying to benefit from rising appetite for flights between the large urban areas.

But lack of investments in expanding airports capacity is already affecting passenger’s comfort, especially in Henri Coandă International Airport.