Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport (Romanian:Aeroportul Internațional Henri Coandă București) (IATA:OTP,ICAO:LROP) isRomania'sbusiest international airport, located inOtopeni, 16.5 km (10.3 mi) north ofBucharest's city centre.[1] It is currently one of the two airports serving the capital of Romania, the other being the smallerAurel Vlaicu Airport. The airport covers 605hectares (1,495acres) of land and contains two parallel runways, both 3,500 meters long.[3]
The airport is named after Romanian flight pioneerHenri Coandă (1886–1972), builder ofCoandă-1910 aircraft and discoverer of theCoandă effect offluidics. Prior to May 2004, the official name wasBucharest Otopeni International Airport (Romanian:Aeroportul Internațional București Otopeni). Henri Coandă International Airport serves as headquarters forTAROM, the country's national airline.[4] It also serves as a base of operations for low-cost airlinesFlyOne,HiSky,Ryanair andWizz Air. It is managed by The National Company Bucharest Airports S.A. (Compania Națională Aeroporturi București S.A.).[5] The military section of the airport is used as the90th Airlift Base of theRomanian Air Force.
Originally, the airport in Otopeni was intended to be used as a Romanian civil aviation and military training center. DuringWorld War II, it was used as an airbase by theLuftwaffe. It was further developed in 1943, becoming one of the principal Luftwaffe bases around Bucharest. By 1944, it featured abeam approach system and two concrete runways, one of 1,370 metres (4,490 ft) aligned North-South and one of 1,190 metres (3,900 ft) aligned East-West.[6] After 23 August 1944, the airport was used to launchair raids on Bucharest in support of theGerman efforts to overthrow the new government.[7] It was bombed by theUSAAF on 26 August and taken over by the Romanian military in the aftermath.[8][9]
Until 1965, it was a major airfield for theRomanian Air Force, withBăneasa Airport serving as Bucharest's commercial airport. In 1965, with the growth of air traffic, the Otopeni airbase was converted to a commercial airport. The runway was modernized and extended to 3,500 metres (11,500 ft) from the previous 1,200 metres (3,900 ft), making it one of the longest in Europe at that time.[10]
In August 1969, whenUnited States PresidentRichard Nixon visited Romania, a VIP lounge was inaugurated. A new passenger terminal (designed byCezar Lăzărescu), with a capacity of 1,200,000 passengers per year, was opened on 13 April 1970, for domestic and international flights.[10] An improvement program added a second runway in 1986, expanding capacity to 35 aircraft movements per hour.[10]
The first stage of the plan (Phase I), taking place between 1994 and 1998, involved the construction of a new departures terminal and of a newairsideconcourse with fivejetways and nine gates (referred to as 'the Finger') as well as the extension ofairport ramps and of their associatedtaxiways.[11]
The second phase (labeled Phase II/IIe) of the plan led to the construction of a terminal dedicated to domestic flights and of a multi-story car park (2003), the complete overhaul of thecontrol tower (between 2005 and 2007) as well as the transformation of the old terminal building into a dedicated arrivals hall (in 2000). During the same phase, two high-speed taxiways (Victor and Whiskey) were constructed. Phase II was completed in 2007.[11]
TAROM ended its unprofitable service to New York City in November 2003.[12][13][14] In June 2007,Delta Air Lines began flying the same route with Boeing 767s.[15] The company made the link seasonal in 2008.[16] Delta terminated it in September 2009 due to therecession and difficulty competing with other airlines.[17]HiSky has commenced service to New York in June 2024, reconnecting Bucharest to the United States.[18]
The third stage of the plan (Phase III), which started in 2009, involved the extension of the airside concourse ('the Finger') with 15 new gates (nine of which have jetways), as well as the expansion of the Departure Hall (with 8 new gates). The airside concourse extension, designed by Studio Capelli Architettura & Associati, and measuring 17,000 square metres (200,000 sq ft), was inaugurated on 29 March 2011.[11][19] It was followed, in November 2012, by the extension of the Departure Hall to a total area of 38,600 square metres (400,000 sq ft).[20][21]
In March 2012, all air traffic except for business air traffic was transferred fromAurel Vlaicu International Airport (at that time Bucharest's low-cost hub) to Henri Coandă International Airport.[citation needed]Air Canada Rouge introduced seasonal routes to Toronto and Montreal in June 2018. The carrier operated the flights with Boeing 767s.[22][23]
Beyond Phase III, a new terminal building (Henri Coandă 2) at the eastern end of the current location is envisaged. The new building is expected to include a large commercial space.[24] Henri Coandă 2 will be of a modular design, consisting of four separate buildings, each capable of handling 5 million passengers annually. Each module will be built as traffic demands dictate. By 2030, Terminal 2 alone should be able to handle the expected volume of 20 million passengers per year. The terminal will be directly connected to theA3 motorway and to therailway system. However, the plans might get delayed due to funding problems.
On 18 January 2021, it has been announced that the airport purchased all the land it needs in order to begin the expansion.[25][26] However, on 15 May 2023, theMinister of Transport and Infrastructure declared that a new terminal will not be built in the near future, because it is not necessary,[27] a declaration which sparked criticism.[28]
The airport's facilities consist of a singleterminal with three main facilities (colloquially referred to as "Terminals"): the Departures Hall/Terminal, the Arrivals Hall/Terminal, and the Finger Terminal (the airside concourse).[29] A walkway with shops connects the departures and arrivals buildings. The airside concourse is organized in two (domestic and international) passengers flows.[30] The entire terminal has 104 check-in desks, 38 gates (of which 14 are equipped withjetways),[20] and a total floor area of 86,000 square metres (930,000 sq ft).[10][19][21]
In 2018, 13,824,830 passengers passed through the airport, an increase of 7.95% compared to 2017.[151] In 2018, the airport handled 13.8 million passengers (63.3% of the total number of passengers carried by Romanian airports) and 39,534 tons of cargo (81.4% of the total amount of cargo handled by Romanian airports).[152]
Anairport rail link service to the main railway station,Gara de Nord (Bucharest North), runs from the Henri Coandă Airport railway station, located near the parking lot of the Arrivals hall.[158] Trains operated byCFR andTransferoviar Călători run 24 hours a day, every 40 minutes, and the journey takes about 20–25 minutes.[158][159]
Former STB express route 783 (now 100) diagram, showing connections toBucharest Metro lines and city airport
Henri Coandă Airport is served by Bucharest's public transport operatorSTB. Express bus line 100 connects the airport with the city centre (Piața Unirii) and operates 24 hours a day; buses run roughly every 15 minutes during the day (every 20 minutes at weekends) and every 30 minutes at night.[162] Journey times typically range from about 35 to 50 minutes, depending on traffic, and can be significantly longer during peak periods, occasionally approaching 75 minutes.[163][164]
Express bus line 442 also serves the airport, linking Piața Presei Liberei in northern Bucharest with Therme Bucharest via Henri Coandă Airport.[165]
Plans for the development of the airport include a new access road linking the proposed Terminal 2 to the A0 motorway ring, designed so that it can later be extended to theA3 motorway, providing an additional road connection to the city and the surrounding region.[166]
Taxis serving Henri Coandă Airport can be ordered using touch-screen terminals in the arrivals hall, which connect passengers with licensed taxi companies. The system was introduced in 2013 as part of a reorganisation of taxi services at the airport, replacing an earlier phone-based ordering scheme and intended to simplify bookings and reduce problems with intermediaries and unauthorised drivers soliciting passengers and overcharging.[167]
Ride-sharing services such asUber andBolt also operate at the airport, using authorised pick-up areas in a dedicated ride-sharing zone on the upper level of the multi-storey car park in front of the international arrivals terminal.[168][169]
On 9 February 1989, aTAROMTupolev TU-154 crashed during a training flight following a simulated engine failure when a flight crew member raised the flaps too soon. All 5 occupants were killed.[170]
On 31 March 1995,TAROM Flight 371, anAirbus A310-324 registered as YR-LCC, simultaneously experienced asymmetric thrust during climb and one of the pilots being incapacitated. The plane crashed nearBalotești just two minutes after takeoff. All 60 people aboard were killed.[171]
On 30 December 2007, a TAROMBoeing 737-300 (YR-BGC "Constanța"), flyingFlight 3107 hit a car on the runway while taking off forSharm-el-Sheikh. The aircraft stopped beside the runway and was severely damaged.[172]
^"ContactArchived 2018-02-03 at theWayback Machine." Henri Coandă International Airport. Retrieved on 1 December 2011. "The National Company "Bucharest Airports" S.A. Calea Bucurestilor nr. 224 E Otopeni, Ilfov County Postal code 075150 Romania" –Address in RomanianArchived 2018-02-03 at theWayback Machine: "Compania Națională "Aeroporturi București" S.A. Calea Bucureștilor nr. 224 E Otopeni, județul Ilfov Cod postal 075150 România"
^Klodnischi, Simona (8 June 2018). "Air Canada Rouge inaugurates service to Bucharest from Montreal and Toronto".Agerpres.GaleA541783097.
^"Air Canada Expands its Global Network from Montreal with New Service to Bucharest, Romania and Lisbon, Portugal" (Press release). Air Canada. 28 September 2017.ProQuest1943755424.
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