Henri Coanda International Airport
|
|
Henri Coandă International Airport (Aeroportul Internaţional Henri Coandă in Romanian, IATA Airport Code: OTP) is the largest airport in Romania, as well as one of two major airports serving Bucharest. The other major airport is Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport. The Henri Coandă airport is located outside the Bucharest city area, in the town of Otopeni, Ilfov.
Its previous name was Bucharest Otopeni International Airport (Aeroportul Internaţional Bucureşti Otopeni). In May 2004 it was renamed in honour of flight pioneer Henri Coandă.
| Contents |
City Access
The airport is located on the Bucharest-Ploieşti highway. The city of Bucharest is accessible by RATB bus 783, which provides a shuttle service, as well as by taxi. There is a proposed plan to link the airport with the Bucharest Metro system.
History
During World War II, the airport in Otopeni was used as an air base of the Third Reich of Hitler. Up to 1965, it was restricted for military use, and was one of the major bases of the Romanian Air Force, with a runway of 1200m. Before 1965, Baneasa Airport was the only airport that Bucharest used for commercial flights. However, with the growth of air traffic, a new commercial airport was constructed in the settlement of Otopeni, where the military air base used to be. The existing runway was modernised, extended up to 3500m, making it even longer than that of Paris' Orly Airport. Also, a new passenger terminal was constructed for domestic and international flights.
In the late 1960s, when President Nixon of the USA visited Romania, a new VIP lounge was created, and in 13 April 1970, the passenger terminal was updated to have a capacity of 1,200,000 passengers per year. The airport slowly become more and more used by airlines, with a growing number of passengers, and in 1986, it entered a new phase of development. A second 3500-metre runway was constructed, as well as related taxiways. The airport lighting system was improved and the capacity was increased to 35-40 airport movements per hour.
In 1992, Otopeni Airport became a regular member of Airport Council International (ACI). In 1997, when 8 years had passed since Romania had escaped from Communism, a development initiative took place. A state-of-the-art International Departures Lounge with a capacity of 1000-1200 passengers per hour was opened, as well as five modern airbridges. In 2000, Phase II of the development initiative continued, and the International Arrivals Terminal was improved.
Currently, the Henri Coandă is one of the most modern in Eastern Europe, and yet development still continues to transform this airport into a state-of-the-art hub for Romanian aviation. Despite this, other airports in Romania are also stealing "market share" from Otopeni, as the launch of the new Angel Airlines operates only from Baneasa. The airports of Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca and the newly-refurbished Iasi are also important hubs for Carpatair.
Airlines
Bucharest is an important airport in Eastern Europe, served by a large variety of European and international airlines. Airlines serving Henri Coandă airport are:
- TAROM - Romania
- Romavia - Romania (performs ministerial and state flights)
- Aeroflot - Russia
- Air France - France
- Alitalia - Italy
- Austrian Airlines Group (incl. Lauda Air) - Austria
- British Airways - United Kingdom
- Czech Airlines - Czech Republic
- El Al - Israel
- Hemus Air - Bulgaria
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines - Netherlands
- LOT Polish Airlines - Poland
- Lufthansa German Airlines - Germany
- MALEV - Hungary
- Olympic Airlines - Greece
- Syrian Arab Airlines - Syria
- Swiss International Air Lines - Switzerland (Swissair does not exist anymore)
- Turkish Airlines - Turkey
External link
- Henri Coandă International Airport (http://www.otp-airport.ro)