Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (largely known as Băneasa Airport or Bucharest City Airport) is located in
Băneasa district,
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, north of the city center.
[EAD Basic](_blank)
/ref> Named after Aurel Vlaicu
Aurel Vlaicu (; 19 November 1882 – 13 September 1913) was a Romanian engineer, inventor, airplane constructor and early pilot.Gheorghiu, 1960
Early years and education
Aurel Vlaicu was born in the village of Binținți in Transylvania, Aus ...
, a Romanian engineer, inventor, aeroplane constructor, and early pilot, it was Bucharest's only airport until 1969, when the Otopeni Airport
Otopeni () is a town in Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania, some north of Bucharest along the DN1 road to Ploiești. It has 15,850 inhabitants, of which 99.0% are ethnic Romanians. One village, Odăile, is administered by the city.
Henri Coand ...
(today ''Henri Coandă International Airport'') was opened to civilian use.
Until March 2012, when it was converted into a business airport, Aurel Vlaicu International was the second airport in Romania in terms of air traffic, and Bucharest's low-cost airline hub
An airline hub or hub airport is an airport used by one or more airlines to concentrate passenger traffic and flight operations. Hubs serve as transfer (or stop-over) points to help get passengers to their final destination. It is part of the ...
.
History
The first flights in the Băneasa area took place in 1909 and they were carried out by the French pilot and aviation pioneer Louis Blériot, who flew on 18 October at the . In 1912, one of first flight schools in Romania was opened on the Băneasa airfield by George Valentin Bibescu
George III Valentin, Prince Bibescu (; 22 March 1880, Bucharest – 2 July 1941, Bucharest) was a Romanian early aviation pioneer and automobile enthusiast.
Family
His parents were George Bibescu (son of Gheorghe Bibescu) and Valentine de Riquet ...
. This makes Băneasa airport the oldest continuously operating airport in Eastern Europe, and among the five oldest airports in the world.
In 1922, the airport headquartered the first aviation company in Romania, and one of the earliest in the world, CFRNA
CFRNA ("The French-Romanian Company for Air Transport"; french: Compagnie franco-roumaine de navigation aérienne; ro, Compania franco-română de navigație aeriană) was a French Third Republic, French–Kingdom of Romania, Romanian airline, Po ...
(The French–Romanian Company for Air Navigation), the precursor of the Romanian national airline, TAROM. In 1923, CFRNA built the industrial facilities for aircraft maintenance in Băneasa. These facilities preceded the aerospace company Romaero
Romaero, formerly Intreprinderea de Reparatii Material Aeronautic or IRMA ('Enterprise for the Repair of Aeronautical Material'), is a Romanian aerospace company, headquartered in the Băneasa neighborhood of Bucharest. In recent years, it has ...
.
The current terminal building was designed in the late 1940s and opened in 1952. At that time it was considered one of the finest architectural features of Bucharest. The building consists of a central dome with three distinct wings which represents an airplane propeller with three blades.
During the communist period (1947–1989), Băneasa Airport was TAROM's domestic hub, while Otopeni Airport was used as an international hub. In the early 2000s (decade), TAROM moved all of its activities to Otopeni (renamed Henri Coandă International Airport).
The 2007 low cost "invasion"
The first low cost airline
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...
established at BBU was Blue Air in 2004. From January 2007, the low-fare airlines Wizz Air
Wizz Air, legally incorporated as Wizz Air Hungary Ltd. ( hu, Wizz Air Hungary Légiközlekedési Zrt.) is a Hungarian ultra-low-cost carrier with its head office in Budapest, Hungary. The airline serves many cities across Europe, as well as s ...
, EasyJet
EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airli ...
, and Germanwings
Germanwings GmbH was a German low-cost airline wholly owned by Lufthansa which operated under the Eurowings brand. It was based in Cologne with hubs at Cologne Bonn Airport, Stuttgart Airport, Hamburg Airport, Berlin Tegel Airport, Munich Ai ...
started European routes from Băneasa.
Renovation works
In 2007, the airport was closed from 10 May to 19 August for renovation works. All flights during this period were moved to Henri Coandă International Airport
Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport ( ro, Aeroportul Internațional Henri Coandă București) is Romania's busiest international airport, located in Otopeni
Otopeni () is a town in Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania, some north of ...
. Renovations included commercial areas, restaurants, a VIP lounge and a 300-space car park. The runway and lighting systems were also completely overhauled. The estimated cost was €20m.
Conversion into a business airport
In March 2012, Băneasa was dedicated to business air traffic. The low-cost traffic was transferred to Henri Coandă International Airport
Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport ( ro, Aeroportul Internațional Henri Coandă București) is Romania's busiest international airport, located in Otopeni
Otopeni () is a town in Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania, some north of ...
.
Possible re-opening
In 2017 and 2018, public talks organized by the managing company took place, suggesting that the airport may be re-opened for regular flights, following renovation works, that may be completed in two years from start.
In June 2019, it was announced that the airport will reopen for commercial flights in early 2020.
Re-opening
On 1 August 2022, the airport was re-opened after 10 years of renovation work and 110 years since it was founded.
Terminals
The building is a late 1940s design, and was not built to cope with more than 600,000 passengers per year and departures every 25 minutes. As such in the few years before 2012 when the airport was closed to commercial scheduled flights, the facilities were extremely undersized and became very crowded. The building cannot be expanded, because of its status as a city landmark, and because of the sheer lack of space in the airport area.
Airlines and destinations
As of 25 March 2012, all commercial flight operations have been moved to Henri Coandă International Airport
Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport ( ro, Aeroportul Internațional Henri Coandă București) is Romania's busiest international airport, located in Otopeni
Otopeni () is a town in Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania, some north of ...
in Otopeni
Otopeni () is a town in Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania, some north of Bucharest along the DN1 road to Ploiești. It has 15,850 inhabitants, of which 99.0% are ethnic Romanians. One village, Odăile, is administered by the city.
Henri Coandă ...
. As of now, Aurel Vlaicu International Airport handles only charter flights and private jets.
Traffic statistics
From as low as 20 to 30 passengers per month in 2001–2002, BBU handled 119,000 passengers in 2004, and 2,398,911 passengers in 2011.
Bucharest International Air Show
The airport has been the set where the Bucharest International Air Show, the largest of its kind in Romania, has been taking place. In 2018, this event had its tenth edition, with 150 aircraft on the ground and on display in the air and 100 pilots and paratroopers, from 13 countries.
Ground transportation
The airport is situated 8 km (5 miles) north of Bucharest city centre and is accessible by STB
State Security ( cs, Státní bezpečnost, sk, Štátna bezpečnosť) or StB / ŠtB, was the secret police force in communist Czechoslovakia from 1945 to its dissolution in 1990. Serving as an intelligence and counter-intelligence agency, it d ...
buses, trams and Airport Express. Taxis and ride-sharing services are also present and accesible.
An extension of the Bucharest Metro system to Aurel Vlaicu International, as Metro Line M6, which will link it to the Main Train Station and the larger Henri Coandă International Airport, was approved in June 2006 and is currently in its planning stage.
The Romanian Ministry of Transportation
See also
*
Aviation in Romania
Romania has a rich tradition in aviation. At the beginning of the 20th century, pioneers such as Henri Coandă, Aurel Vlaicu, Traian Vuia and George Valentin Bibescu made important contributions to early aviation history, building revolutionary aer ...
*
Transport in Romania
Transportation infrastructure in Romania is the property of the state, and is administered by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Constructions and Tourism, except when operated as a concession, in which case the concessions are made ...
References
External links
Official websiteGoogle Map – Aerial View
{{authority control
Transport in Bucharest
Airports in Romania
Airports established in 1912
Buildings and structures in Bucharest
Historic monuments in Bucharest
1912 establishments in Romania
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command in the European Theater
Aurel Vlaicu
Băneasa