Chișinău_International_Airport
Chișinău International Airport
Airport serving Chișinău, Moldova
Chișinău International Airport (Romanian: Aeroportul Internațional Chișinău; IATA: RMO, ICAO: LUKK) is Moldova's main international airport, located 13 km (8.1 mi) southeast of the centre of Chișinău, the capital city.[1] It served as headquarters for Air Moldova,[3][4] the country's national airline.
Chișinău International Airport Aeroportul Internațional Chișinău | |||||||||||||||
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The airport's main terminal in 2019 | |||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | Chișinău International Airport Company | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Chișinău | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Chișinău, Moldova | ||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1960; 64 years ago (1960) | ||||||||||||||
| Hub for | |||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 399 ft / 122 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 46°55′40″N 028°55′51″E | ||||||||||||||
| Website | airport.md/en | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||||||
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On 18 January 2024, the IATA airport code KIV, derived from Kishinev (the Russian and former English name of the city), was changed to RMO (Republica Moldova, "Republic of Moldova" in Romanian).[5]
Early years
The first scheduled flights to Chișinău started on 24 June 1926, on the route Bucharest–Galați–Chișinău and Iași. The flights were operated by CFRNA, later LARES.[6] A commemorative plaque, describing the first flight to Chișinău, was placed in the airport.
The main terminal was built in the 1970s, with a capacity of 1,200,000 passengers per year.
Development since the 1990s
On 31 May 1995, Chișinău Airport was awarded the status of an international airport.
In 2002, following works by the Turkish company Akfen Holding, the airport was modernised. An annex terminal building with an area of 4,270 m2 (46,000 sq ft) was added to the renovated old terminal building of 7,600 m2 (82,000 sq ft). The project covered the construction of 3,000 m2 (32,000 sq ft) curtain walls, 3,200 m2 (34,000 sq ft) composite panels, 12,185 m2 (131,160 sq ft) asphalt road, a treatment plant with a capacity of 3,450 m3 (122,000 cu ft) a day, complete mechanical heating, ventilation and electrical systems, along with the X-ray security, luggage handling, master clock, and flight information systems. The annual capacity of the airport had increased to 5.4 million passengers.[7]
Chișinău International Airport is a member of Airports Council International.
The airport closed temporarily on 24 February 2022, as Moldovan airspace was closed in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[8] On 22 March 2022, the Civil Aviation Authority of Moldova partially reopened the country's airspace, which led to the resumption of operations at the airport.[9]
On 14 March 2023, WizzAir suspended flights to/from Moldova due to concerns over airspace safety.[10] After this, Igor Grosu, the President of the Moldovan parliament, met with representatives of Ryanair to convince the company to operate flights at the airport, in order to replace Wizz Air as its main low-cost airline.[11]
There were ten check-in desks and five gates at the airport in 2009.[12] VIP and CIP guests are offered special services at the VIP terminal. A visitors' terrace on the second floor opened in December 2006.
Previously, passengers had to present their passport, ticket and their registration (of foreigners – which used to be required). Passengers were allowed in the check-in hall. With the introduction of e-tickets and the abolition of the registration for foreigners, the airport reorganised in late 2006. This resulted in a bigger check-in hall, and customs control is now after check-in.
There are plans to enlarge the airport.[13] The project involves a €19 million loan to Chișinău International Airport for the rehabilitation and upgrade of the existing runway, taxiways, aprons, and ramps, engineering works, safety equipment and other connected core assets of Chișinău International Airport. The European Investment Bank ('EIB') is considering co-financing alongside the EBRD for up to an equal amount.[14] Towards the end of 2017, plans for a second runway were unveiled. This runway would take the place of the current taxiway just north of the existing runway. The project began in early 2017. Runway 09–27 started operations on 13 September 2018.[15]
The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at Chișinău International Airport:
 | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
In 2022, Chișinău Airport handled around 2.31 million passengers, an increase of over 25% compared to 2021 (1.84 million pax).[45]
| Year | Passengers (total)[2][46][47] | Change | Aircraft movements (total)[2][48] | Change | Cargo (tonnes)[2] | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 254,178 | N/A | 9,521 | N/A | 2,400 | |
| 2001 | 274,662 |  8.0% |
9,866 | 3.6% |
1,700 | |
| 2002 | 296,431 | 7.9% |
10,416 | 5.5% |
1,300 | |
| 2003 | 341,695 | 15.2% |
9,502 |  8.7% |
1,300 | |
| 2004 | 421,011 | 23.2% |
10,759 | 13.2% |
1,400 | |
| 2005 | 482,741 | 14.6% |
11,126 | 3.4% |
1,700 | |
| 2006 | 548,331 | 13.5% |
10,065 | 9.5% |
1,800 | |
| 2007 | 688,782 | 25.6% |
11,623 | 15.4% |
2,300 | |
| 2008 | 847,881 | 23.1% |
12,935 | 11.3% |
2,468.8 | |
| 2009 | 808,096 | 4.7% |
12,355 | 4.5% |
2,033.2 | 17.6% |
| 2010 | 937,030 | 15.9% |
13,751 | 11.3% |
2,399.2 | 18.0% |
| 2011 | 1,046,086 | 11.6% |
15,022 | 9.2% |
2,666.2 | 11.1% |
| 2012 | 1,220,506 | 16.7% |
16,113 | 7.3% |
2,765.4 | 3.7% |
| 2013 | 1,321,236 | 8.2% |
16,858 | 4.6% |
2,951.8 | 6.7% |
| 2014 | 1,781,166 | 34.8% |
19,756 | 17.2% |
2,923.5 | 0.9% |
| 2015 | 2,226,441 | 25.0% |
22,468 | 13.7% |
2,891.8 | 1.1% |
| 2016 | 2,206,266 | 0.9% |
22,033 | 1.9% |
2,774.3 | 4.1% |
| 2017 | 2,744,465 | 24.4% |
27,113 | 23.1% |
3,488.7 | 25.7% |
| 2018 | 2,828,626 | 3.1% |
27,949 | 3.1% |
4,186.6 | 20.0% |
| 2019 | 2,995,530 | 5.9% |
27,092 | 3.1% |
3,767.7 | 10.0% |
| 2020 | 900,731 | 69.9% |
9,870 | 63.6% |
||
| 2021 | 1,822,505 | 102.3% |
16,590 | 68.1% |
||
| 2022 | 2,254,199 | 23.7% |
19,199 | 15.7% |
||
| 2023 | 2,838,073 | 25.9% |
24,947 | 29.9% |
2,652.6 |
- 2023 recent data.[49]
Routes
| Rank | City | Airport(s) | Weekly Departures (1 September 2023)[50] |
Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Istanbul |
Istanbul Airport | 34 | Turkish Airlines FlyOne |
| 2. |  Bucharest |
Henri Coandă International Airport | 19 | TAROM |
| 3. |  Warsaw |
Warsaw Chopin Airport | 14 | LOT Polish Airlines |
| 4. |  Yerevan |
Zvartnots International Airport | 14 | FlyOne FlyOne Armenia |
| 5. |  Dublin |
Dublin Airport | 9 | FlyOne HiSky |
| 6. |  Tel Aviv |
Ben Gurion Airport | 9 | FlyOne HiSky |
| 7. |  London |
London Stansted Airport | 7 | FlyOne HiSky |
| 8. |  Vienna |
Vienna Airport | 7 | Austrian Airlines |
| 9. | Antalya |
Antalya Airport | 7 | Pegasus Airlines FlyOne Turkish Airlines Southwind Airlines |
| 10. | London |
London Luton Airport | 7 | FlyOne |
- The Civil Aviation Authority has its headquarters on the airport property.[51]
There are bus and trolleybus lines frequently departing from the airport.
- At 11:49 on 15 May 1970, CCCP-11149, an Antonov An-10A of Aeroflot's Ulyanovsk Advanced Flying Training College, crashed during a go-around when both engines shut down. All 11 onboard were killed.[52]
- On 11 April 2008, Kata Air Transport Flight 007, a Sudanese cargo An-32 "Cline" flying from Vienna to Khartoum via Antalya crashed on approach to the airport, killing all eight on board. The plane was returning to the airport, where it had just been repaired, due to engine problems.[53]
- On 30 June 2023, 43-year-old Tajikistani national Rustam Ashurov, who was wanted for criminal charges in his home country[54] and had been refused entry to Moldova from Turkey, snatched a gun from a border police officer and opened fire, killing a border guard and an airport security official, and injuring another person. The gunman was wounded and arrested.[55] He died in hospital three days later.[56]
- "EAD Basic - Error Page". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- Statistică şi indicatori Archived 2023-04-06 at the Wayback Machine at caa.md
- "Aeroportul Internațional Chișinău a trecut la abrevierea în limba română, renunțându-se la cea moștenită din epoca sovietică". HotNews (in Romanian). 18 January 2024.
- Chișinău International Airport at azworldairports.com
- "Chisinau Airport". Chisinau Airport. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
- About Chisinau International Airport Archived 2009-07-07 at the Wayback Machine at booking.md
- "Error 404". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- "All Press Releases". 16 March 2015. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- "LIVE! Evenimentul de deschidere oficială a noii piste de aterizare/decolare a Aeroportului Chişinău". Realitatea Live!. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
- "Rută nouă: Chișinău – Atena cu Aegean Airlines din noiembrie 2023". 2 September 2023.
- "New Route: Chisinau - Riga with AirBaltic from May 2024". 29 August 2023.
- Gasimov, Kamran (9 August 2023). "Azerbaijan's AZAL starts direct flights from Baku to capital of Moldova". Trend.Az. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- "Eurowings NS24 Network Additions – 30NOV23". AeroRoutes. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- אזולאי, איתי (20 February 2024). "FLYONE מולדובה חוזרת לטוס לישראל". פספורטניוז (in Hebrew). Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- "Flight Schedules and Airline Availability". tez-tour.com.
- Dolghii, Ana Maria (8 December 2023). "Georgian Wings lansează cursa avia Tbilisi - Chișinău - Tbilisi. Cât costă biletele". NewsMaker (in Romanian). Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- "Hamburg bekommt neue Verbindung nach Chișinău". 25 January 2024.
- "HiSky va zbura din aprilie 2023 din Chișinău spre Roma". 2 March 2023.
- "Israir Schedules Chisinau Service in NW23". AeroRoutes. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- Machado, João (19 January 2024). "Lufthansa to fly to Moldova". Aviacionline.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- "Pegasus Airlines NS24 Network Additions – 23APR24". AeroRoutes. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- "Wizz Air reia zborurile la Chișinău din decembrie 2023". 15 November 2023.
- "Cum se explică creșterea cu 65% a numărului de pasageri de la Aeroportul Chișinău în primele șase luni ale anului 2023". radiochisinau.md (in Romanian). 10 July 2023.
- European Airport Traffic Trends at anna.aero
- "Anker-report.com EATS-European Airport Traffic Statistics". The Anker Report.
- In 2013 Chisinau International Airport carried a record number of passengers Archived 2016-06-25 at the Wayback Machine at airport.md
- "Contacts Archived 2012-03-25 at the Wayback Machine." Civil Aviation Authority. Retrieved on 4 November 2011. "Postal address: Republica Moldova, Chisinau, Aeroport, MD-2026"
- "ASN Aircraft accident Antonov An-10A CCCP-11149 Chisinau Airport (KIV)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
- Popeski, Ron (12 April 2008). "Cargo plane crashes after takeoff from Moldova", Reuters [dead link]
- "Moldova attack: Two dead as man opens fire inside Chisinau airport". BBC. 30 June 2023.
- Михалкина, Алина (2023-07-03). "Стрелок из Кишиневского аэропорта скончался в больнице". NewsMaker (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-07-03.
Media related to Chișinău International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
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