Traffic on Romania's Iasi airport surges as Moldova closes its airspace

Wizz Air operates flights from Iasi airport in northeastern Romania to Basel and Berlin as of Sunday and Monday respectively, after Polish airline Lot already started operating flights from the same airport to Warsaw the day before, Ziaruldeiasi.ro reported.

The Romanian airport close to the border with Moldova is facing increased traffic after the Republic of Moldova closed its airspace completely in response to the conflict in Ukraine, and the flow of passengers increased driven by the refugees from Ukraine seeking a way to their families in western Europe.

Moldovan-Romanian airline Fly One will start flights from Iasi as well, and Blue Air and Tarom will add more routes, airport manager Romeo Vatra stated, quoted by News.ro. Airport management is talking with Turkish Airlines for a flight to Istanbul while a route to Dubai is also envisaged.

The airspace of the Republic of Moldova was closed on Thursday due to the military conflict in the region, and the airlines decided to temporarily reroute their flights from Chisinau to Iasi airport. From Iasi, passengers are taken by bus to Chisinau.

Polish national airline Lot operates for the first time flights from Iasi.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Liviu Chirica)