Chișinău International Airport (; ) is

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

's main

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

, located southeast of the centre of

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

, the capital city. It served as headquarters for Air Moldova, the country's national airline. On 18 January 2024, the IATA airport code KIV, derived from Kishinev (the Russian and former English name of the city), was changed to RMO (''Republica Moldova'', "Republic of Moldova" in Romanian). It is the only airport in Moldova with regular passenger flights.

History

Early years

The first scheduled flights to Chișinău started on 24 June 1926, on the route

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

–

Galați Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...

–Chișinău and

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

. The flights were operated by CFRNA, later

LARES Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ) were Tutelary deity#Ancient Rome, guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an ama ...

. A commemorative plaque, describing the first flight to Chișinău, was placed in the airport. The main terminal was built in the 1970s, with a capacity of 1,200,000 passengers per year.

Development since the 1990s

On 31 May 1995, Chișinău Airport was awarded the status of an international airport. A major modernization and renovation of the airport was completed in 2002 by the Turkish company Akfen Holding. An annex terminal building with an area of was added to the renovated old terminal building of . The project covered the construction of curtain walls, composite panels, asphalt road, a treatment plant with a capacity of a day, complete mechanical heating,

ventilation Ventilation may refer to: * Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation ** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing *** Respirator, a ma ...

and electrical systems, along with the

X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

security, luggage handling, master clock, and flight information systems. The annual capacity of the airport increased to 5.4 million passengers. Chișinău International Airport is a member of

Airports Council International Airports Council International (ACI) is an organization of Airport authority, airport authorities, informing members of industry practices and airport standards. Established in 1991, its headquarters (ACI World) are based in Montreal, Quebec, Ca ...

. The airport closed temporarily on 24 February 2022, as Moldovan airspace was closed in the wake of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. On 22 March 2022, the Civil Aviation Authority of Moldova partially reopened the country's airspace, which led to the resumption of operations at the airport. On 14 March 2023,

WizzAir {{Infobox airline , airline = Wizz Air Holdings Plc. , IATA = , ICAO = , callsign = , aoc = , hubs = , focus_cities = , frequent_flyer = {{ubl, class=nowrap , Wizz All You Can Fly , Wizz Discount Club , Wizz Privilege Pass , ...

suspended flights to/from Moldova due to concerns over airspace safety. After this,

Igor Grosu Igor Grosu (born 30 November 1972) is a Moldova, Moldovan politician who is the President of the Moldovan Parliament, President of the Parliament of Moldova since 29 July 2021. He has been a member of the Parliament of Moldova, Moldovan Parliamen ...

, the president of the

Moldovan Parliament The parliament of the Republic of Moldova () is the supreme representative body of the Republic of Moldova, the only state legislative authority, being a unicameral structure composed of 101 elected MPs on lists, for a period or legislature of ...

, met with representatives of

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...

to convince the company to operate flights at the airport, in order to replace Wizz Air as its main

low-cost airline A low-cost carrier (LCC) or low-cost airline, also called a budget, or discount carrier or airline, is an airline that is operated with an emphasis on minimizing operating costs. It sacrifices certain traditional airline luxuries for cheaper fa ...

Facilities

There were ten check-in desks and five gates at the airport in 2009. VIP and CIP guests are offered special services at the VIP terminal. A visitors' terrace on the second floor opened in December 2006. Previously, passengers had to present their passport, ticket and their registration (of foreigners – which used to be required). Passengers were allowed in the check-in hall. With the introduction of e-tickets and the abolition of the registration for foreigners, the airport reorganised in late 2006. This resulted in a bigger check-in hall, and customs control is now after check-in. There are plans to enlarge the airport. The project involves a

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

19 million loan to Chișinău International Airport for the rehabilitation and upgrade of the existing

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with Airport apron, aprons, hangars, Airport terminal, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as Asphalt concrete, asphalt or concrete, although sma ...

apron An apron is a garment worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body to protect from liquids. They have several purposes, most commonly as a functional accessory that protects clothes and skin from stains and marks. However, other typ ...

s, and ramps, engineering works, safety equipment and other connected core assets of Chișinău International Airport. The

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the 27 member states. It is the largest multilateral financial institution in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt sol ...

(EIB) is considering co-financing alongside the

EBRD The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...

for up to an equal amount. Towards the end of 2017, plans for a second runway were unveiled. This runway would take the place of the current taxiway just north of the existing runway. The project began in early 2017. Runway 09–27 started operations on 13 September 2018.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at Chișinău International Airport:

Statistics

In 2022, Chișinău Airport handled around 2.31 million passengers, an increase of over 25% compared to 2021 (1.84 million passengers).

Routes

Other facilities

* The Civil Aviation Authority has its headquarters on the airport property.

Ground transportation

There are bus and trolleybus lines frequently departing from the airport.

Incidents and accidents

*At 11:49 on 15 May 1970, CCCP-11149, an Antonov An-10A of

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (, ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; , , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo Interna ...

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk,, , known as Simbirsk until 1924, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Ulyanovsk has been the only Russian UNESCO Ci ...

Advanced Flying Training College, crashed during a go-around when both engines shut down. All 11 onboard were killed. *On 11 April 2008, Kata Air Transport Flight 007, a Sudanese cargo An-32 "Cline" flying from

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

via

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

crashed on approach to the airport, killing all eight on board. The plane was returning to the airport, where it had just been repaired, due to engine problems. *On 30 June 2023, 43-year-old

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

i national, Rustam Ashurov, who was wanted for criminal charges in his home country and had been refused entry to Moldova from

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, snatched a gun from a border police officer and opened fire, killing a

border guard A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In diff ...

and an airport security official, and injuring another person. The gunman was wounded and arrested. He died in a hospital three days later.

Interesting facts

In 2019, Moldovan sculptor Veaceslav Jiglitski installed the sculpture group "Crew" in the passenger check-in hall. At the entrance to the airport there is a monument to a decommissioned Tu-134 aircraft

References

External links

*
State Administration of Civil Aviation Administration of Moldova
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chisinau International Airport Airports in Moldova

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...