What happened to Romanian airports? Cluj-Napoca's Avram Iancu International exceeds RON 1 mln in electricity bills

Several airports in Romania, including Cluj-Napoca's Avram Iancu International and Iași International, are facing a desperate situation as maintenance costs soar.

David Ciceo, director of Cluj-Napoca airport, says that the last electricity bill hit RON 1 million, and the effect could be felt in passengers' pockets as the management is looking for solutions to pay it off.

"In Cluj, the bill is higher now because we buy the MW for RON 4,500 and in 2019 we bought it for RON 360. There is no predictability," he told Digi24.

"The energy producers, the intermediaries, do not want to conclude contracts for more than one month with the airports. Safety in security comes first and we need predictability and we need normal prices".

On the other hand, in Iași, its September bill skyrocketed to 20 times more than the amounts paid until July, estimating almost half a million euros - the same sum usually covers two to three months at most, averaging 220 mw per month in 2021.

Romeo Vatră, director of Iași Airport, told the publication: "This current does not only come from what is consumed within the terminal, we are also talking about runway beaconing and platform lighting. From this point of view vision can be endangered, being at some point forced to take measures to reduce the current".

Earlier this month, Cluj-Napoca airport celebrated its two millionth passenger of the year milestone for the fourth time in its history.

(Photo: Cluj-Napoca Avram Iancu International Airport's official website)