Romania to move low-cost airlines from Baneasa to main Otopeni airport from 2012

Romania's Transport Ministry will transfer low-cost flights from the smaller Baneasa airport North of Bucharest to the main airport for the capital city –the Otopeni airport, also in the North of the city. The move will be enforced from March 2012, according to Transport Minister Anca Boagiu.

The Baneasa airport will become a city airport for VIP flights until 2015, according to the Ministry's plan. Five airlines operate on Baneasa airport – Wizz Air, Blue Air, Germanwings, KoralBlue airlines and Nouvelair. Otopeni airport, which inaugurated a new terminal earlier this year Both airports in Bucharest are run by Compania Naţională Aeroporturi Bucureşti (CNAB). The two airports together had a traffic of 3.4 million passengers in the first six months of the year, up 8.2 percent on the same period of last year. Last year, the total traffic on the two airports was of 7 million passengers. Otopeni airport had 4.9 million passengers in 2010, up 10 percent on the previous year, and Baneasa, 2.1 million travelers last year. Compania Naţională Aeroporturi Bucureşti was created in 2010 after the merger of the two airport companies. editor@romania-insider.com