County in western Romania to set up own airline

Disappointed by the weak traffic on Oradea airport in western Romania, the municipality and the county authorities decided to set up their own airline and run frequent flights to the capital city Bucharest and the main cities in western Europe, Profit.ro reported.

The two entities signed an agreement and will seek private partners as well, but the details were not sketched yet.

There is significant demand generated by the foreign companies that operate in the industrial park, Bihor County Council head Ilie Bolojan explained.

The airline may lease small-sized aircraft (74 seats each) and plans four flights per day to Bucharest during the working days and two flights per day on the weekend. The airport is owned by the county council.

"We are a medium-sized city in Romania, and the airport serves an area inhabited by about one million people, from Bihor and the limits of the neighboring counties. We are a city where the operation of Oradea Airport is at the profitability limit, at least until recently, we depend on the commercial policies of the airlines, on the global context. Depending on the air transport market is not a solution for the development of Oradea and Bihor county," said Ilie Bolojan.

(Photo: Octav Ganea/ Inquam Photos)