Henri Coandă International Airport

"Bucharest Airport" redirects here. For other uses, see Bucharest Airport (disambiguation).
Bucharest Henri Coandǎ International Airport
Aeroportul Internațional Henri Coandă București
IATA: OTPICAO: LROP
Summary
Airport type Public / Military
Operator The National Company "Bucharest Airports" S.A.
Serves Bucharest, Romania
Location Otopeni
Hub for
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL 314 ft / 96 m
Coordinates 44°34′16″N 026°05′06″E / 44.57111°N 26.08500°E / 44.57111; 26.08500Coordinates: 44°34′16″N 026°05′06″E / 44.57111°N 26.08500°E / 44.57111; 26.08500
Website bucharestairports.ro
Map
OTP

Location within Romania

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
08R/26L 3,500 11,484 Concrete
08L/26R 3,500 11,484 Concrete
Helipads
Number Length Surface
m ft
H1 3.5 11 Concrete
Statistics (2015)
Passengers 9,274,629
Passengers change 2015–14 Increase 11.5%
Aircraft movements 97,218
Sources: Romanian AIP at EUROCONTROL,[1] bucharestairports.ro[2]

Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport (Romanian: Aeroportul Internațional Henri Coandă București) (IATA: OTP, ICAO: LROP) is Romania's busiest international airport, and it is located in Otopeni, 16.5 km (10.3 mi) north of Bucharest's city centre.[1] It is currently one of two airports serving the capital, with the other being Aurel Vlaicu Airport. The airport is named after Romanian flight pioneer Henri Coandă, builder of Coandă-1910 aircraft and discoverer of the Coandă effect of fluidics.

Until May 2004, the official name was Bucharest Otopeni International Airport (Romanian: Aeroportul Internațional București Otopeni), which remains the name by which it is generally known.

Henri Coandă International Airport serves as headquarters for TAROM, the country's national airline, and Țiriac Air.[3][4] It also serves as a base of operations for low-cost airlines Blue Air, Ryanair and Wizz Air. It is managed by The National Company Bucharest Airports S.A. (Compania Națională Aeroporturi București S.A.).[5] The military section of the airport is used by the 90th Airlift Flotilla of the Romanian Air Force.

History

Early years

During World War II, the airport in Otopeni was used as an airbase by the German air force. Up to 1965, it was restricted for military use and was one of the major bases of the Romanian Air Force, with a runway of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft). Băneasa Airport was the only airport that Bucharest used for commercial flights. In 1965, with the growth of air traffic, a new commercial airport was constructed in the settlement of Otopeni, where the military air base used to be. The runway was modernised and extended up to 3,500 metres (11,500 ft), making it one of the longest in Europe at that time.[6]

In August 1969, when President Nixon of the United States visited Romania, a VIP lounge was inaugurated. A new passenger terminal (designed by Cezar Lăzărescu), with a capacity of 1,200,000 passengers per year, was opened on 13 April 1970, for domestic and international flights.[6] The airport slowly became more and more used by airlines, with a growing number of passengers. In 1986, it entered a new phase of development. A second 3500-metre runway was constructed, as well as related taxiways. The airport lighting system was improved and the capacity was increased to 35 airport movements per hour.[6]

In 1992, Otopeni Airport became a regular member of Airports Council International (ACI). In the same year a long-term, multi-stage upgrade plan was devised, anticipating a sharp increase in traffic as traveling restrictions to and from Romania were lifted.

Expansion since the 1990s

The first stage of the plan (Phase I), taking place between 1994 and 1998, involved the construction a new departures terminal and of a new airside concourse with five jetways and nine gates (referred to as 'the Finger') as well as the extension of airport ramps and of their associated taxiways.[7]

The second phase (labeled Phase II/IIe) of the plan led to the construction of a terminal dedicated to domestic flights and of a multi-story car park (2003), the complete overhaul of the control tower (between 2005–2007) as well as the transformation of the old terminal building in a dedicated arrivals hall (in 2000). During the same phase, two high-speed taxiways (Oscar and Victor) were constructed. Phase II was completed in 2007.[7]

The third stage of the plan (Phase III), which started in 2009, involved the extension of the airside concourse ('the Finger') with 15 new gates (nine of which have jetways), as well as the expansion of the Departure Hall (with 8 new gates). The airside concourse extension, designed by Studio Capelli Architettura & Associati, and measuring 17,000 square metres (200,000 sq ft), was inaugurated on 29 March 2011.[7][8] It was followed, in November 2012, by the extension of the Departure Hall to a total area of 38,600 square metres (400,000 sq ft).[9][10]

In March 2012, all air traffic except for business air traffic was transferred from Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (at that time Bucharest's low-cost hub) to Henri Coandă International Airport.

The airport has ILS CAT III status on all runways.[11]

OTP northern runway

Future development

Beyond Phase III, a new terminal building (Henri Coandă 2) at the eastern end of the current location is envisaged. Henri Coandă 2 will be of a modular design, consisting of four separate buildings, each capable of handling 5 million passengers annually. Each module will be built as traffic demands dictate. Thus, by 2023, Terminal 2 alone should be able to handle the 20 million passengers per year indicated by estimates. The terminal will be directly connected to A3 motorway, to the railway system, and to the Bucharest Metro system through Metro Line 6.[12]

Terminals

Departures hall

The airport's facilities consist of a single terminal with three main facilities (colloquially referred to as "Terminals"): the Departures Hall/Terminal, the Arrivals Hall/Terminal, and the Finger Terminal (the airside concourse).[13] A walkway with shops connects the departures and arrivals buildings. The airside concourse is organized in two (Schengen/non-Schengen) passengers transit flows.[14]

The entire terminal has 38 gates (of which 14 equipped with jetways),[9] and a total floor area of 86,000 square metres (930,000 sq ft).[6][8][10]

Services

The international departure area, loacted in the airside concourse, hosts a variety of shops, cafes, duty-frees, lounges, Internet cafes and many more. There is also a chapel and a small play area for children on the first level of the International Departures Hall. The facilities inside the airport are easily accessible for the persons with disabilities.

The main handling agent in the airport is Globeground, the second being Menzies. The catering services are provided by Alpha Rocas.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Athens
Seasonal charter: Chania, Corfu, Heraklion, Kos, Mykonos, Rhodes, Santorini, Zakynthos
Aeroflot Moscow-Sheremetyevo
Air Berlin Berlin-Tegel
Air Bucharest Seasonal charter: Antalya, Bodrum, Corfu, Heraklion, Hurghada, Kos, Palma de Mallorca, Rhodes
Air France Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Air Malta Seasonal: Malta
Air Serbia Belgrade
Alitalia Milan-Linate, Rome-Fiumicino
Arkia Seasonal: Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion[15]
Austrian Airlines Vienna
Blue Air Barcelona, Beauvais, Bergamo, Bologna, Brussels, Birmingham ,[16] Castellon (begins 1 June 2016),[17] Catania, Cluj-Napoca (begins 3 June 2016),[18] Cologne/Bonn, Dublin, Florence, Glasgow, Hamburg ,[19] Iași,[20] Larnaca, Lisbon (begins 2 June 2016),[21] Liverpool, London-Luton, Lyon (begins 4 June 2016),[22] Madrid, Málaga, Milan-Linate, Naples, Nice, Rome-Fiumicino, Stockholm-Arlanda (begins 4 June 2016),[23] Stuttgart, Turin, Valencia
Seasonal: Antalya, Bodrum, Corfu, Preveza, Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion, Zakynthos
British Airways London-Heathrow
Czech Airlines Prague
El Al Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion
Ellinair Seasonal: Heraklion (begins 6 June 2016)[24]
Eurowings Düsseldorf[25]
flydubai Dubai-International
Iberia Express Seasonal: Madrid (begins 20 June 2016)[26]
Israir Airlines Seasonal: Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion
KLM Amsterdam
LOT Polish Airlines Warsaw-Chopin
Lufthansa Frankfurt, Munich
Lufthansa Regional
operated by Lufthansa CityLine
Frankfurt, Munich
Nouvelair Seasonal charter: Tunis
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen
Qatar Airways Doha
Ryanair[27] Athens, Bergamo, Berlin-Schönefeld (begins 2 September 2016), Bologna, Charleroi, Dublin, London-Stansted, Madrid, Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Ciampino, Timișoara (begins 1 September 2016)
Scandinavian Airlines Copenhagen
Swiss International Air Lines Zürich
TAROM Amman-Queen Alia, Amsterdam, Athens, Baia Mare (suspended),[28] Barcelona, Beirut, Belgrade, Brussels, Budapest, Chișinău, Cluj-Napoca, Dubai-International, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg,[29] Iași, Istanbul-Atatürk, Larnaca, London-Heathrow, Madrid, Munich, Nice, Oradea, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Prague, Rome-Fiumicino, Satu Mare, Sofia, Stockholm-Arlanda, Suceava, Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion, Thessaloniki, Timișoara, Valencia, Vienna
Seasonal: Alicante (begins 4 June 2016)[30]
Seasonal charter: Antalya, Bodrum, Corfu, Heraklion, Hurghada, Kos, Mykonos, Palma de Mallorca, Preveza, Rhodes, Santorini, Sharm el-Sheikh, Skiathos, Tenerife-South
Tunisair Seasonal charter: Tunis
Turkish Airlines Istanbul-Atatürk
Vueling Seasonal: Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid
Wizz Air[31] Alicante, Alghero, Barcelona, Bari, Basel/Mulhouse, Beauvais, Birmingham (begins 22 May 2016),[32] Bergamo, Bologna, Budapest (begins 19 September 2016),[33] Catania, Charleroi, Cluj-Napoca (begins 22 July 2016),[33] Doncaster/Sheffield, Dortmund, Dubai-Al Maktoum, Eindhoven, Geneva, Glasgow,[34] Larnaca, London-Gatwick (begins 18 June 2016),[35] London-Luton, Lisbon (begins 22 May 2016), Maastricht (begins 1 June 2016, ends 15 June 2016), Madrid, Málaga, Malmö, Malta, Milan-Malpensa, Naples, Nuremberg, Perugia, Pescara, Pisa, Rome-Ciampino, Sandefjord, Stockholm-Skavsta, Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion, Treviso, Turin, Valencia, Verona, Zaragoza

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
DHL Aviation Bergamo, Budapest, Chișinău, Treviso
TNT Airways Liège, Munich, Sofia
UPS Airlines
operated by ASL Airlines Switzerland
Cologne/Bonn, Katowice

Statistics

Arrivals hall
Old international departures area (Finger terminal)
TAROM ATR-42 at Bucharest Otopeni Airport
Wizz Air Airbus A320 at Bucharest Otopeni Airport
TAROM Boeing 737-700 wearing retro livery

Passengers

In 2015, Henri Coandă International received 9,282,884 passengers, an increase of 11.6% compared to 2014.[36]

Annual traffic
Year Passengers (total)[36] Change[36] Passengers (domestic flights) Aircraft movements[37] Cargo
2005 2,972,799
-
-
49,593 16,887 tonnes
2006 3,497,938 Increase 17.6%
-
55,056 18,089 tonnes
2007 4,937,683 Increase 41.1% 410,916 67,372 17,423 tonnes
2008 5,063,555 Increase 2.5% 497,208 69,916
-
2009 4,480,765 Decrease 11.5% 496,391 69,692
-
2010 4,916,964 Increase 9.7%
-
71,481
-
2011 5,049,443 Increase 2.7%
-
-
-
2012 7,120,024 Increase 41%
-
98,600
-
2013 7,643,467 Increase 7.3%
-
106,159
-
2014 8,316,705 Increase 8.8%
-
91,788
-
2015 9,282,884 Increase 11.6%
-
97,218
-
2016
Month Passengers[36] Change (2015-2016) Passengers Cumulatively
January 684,200 Increase 14.7% 684,200
February 681,155 Increase 21.8% 1,365,355

Busiest Domestic Routes from Henri Coandă International Airport
Rank Airport Passengers 2015 Carriers
1 Romania Cluj-Napoca Airport
171,491
TAROM
2 Romania Timișoara Airport
160,867
TAROM
3 Romania Iași Airport
109,865
TAROM
Source:Eurostat

Routes

Busiest routes at Henri Coandă Airport
City Airport(s) Weekly Departures
(April 2016)
Airlines
United Kingdom London Heathrow Airport, Luton Airport, Stansted Airport
70
Blue Air, British Airways, Ryanair, TAROM, Wizz Air
Italy Rome Fiumicino Airport, Ciampino Airport
46
Alitalia, Blue Air, Ryanair, TAROM, Wizz Air
Romania Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca Airport
63
Blue Air, TAROM, Wizz Air
Romania Iași Iași Airport
49
Blue Air, TAROM
Austria Vienna Vienna Airport
45
Austrian Airlines, TAROM
Italy Milan Il Caravaggio International Airport, Milan Linate Airport, Milan–Malpensa Airport
44
Alitalia, Blue Air, Ryanair, Wizz Air
France Paris Beauvais–Tillé Airport, Charles de Gaulle Airport
42
Air France, Blue Air, TAROM, Wizz Air
Romania Timișoara Traian Vuia Airport
40
TAROM, Ryanair
Turkey Istanbul Atatürk Airport, Sabiha Gökçen Airport
38
Pegasus Airlines, TAROM, Turkish Airlines
Netherlands Amsterdam Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
35
KLM, TAROM
Germany Munich Munich Airport
33
Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cityline, TAROM
Belgium Bruxelles Brussels Airport ,Brussels South Charleroi Airport
31
Blue Air, Ryanair, Tarom, Wizz Air
Spain Madrid Madrid Airport
27
Blue Air, Iberia Express, Ryanair, TAROM, Wizz Air
Germany Frankfurt Frankfurt Airport
27
Lufthansa, TAROM
Israel Tel Aviv Tel Aviv Airport
25
El Al, TAROM, Wizzair
Greece Athens Athens International Airport
22
Aegean Airlines, Ryanair, TAROM
Moldova Chișinău Chișinău Airport
21
TAROM
Poland Warsaw Warsaw Chopin Airport
21
LOT Polish Airlines

Ground transportation

Train and metro

RATB Route 783 diagram (connections to Bucharest Metro lines shown)

A direct train service to the main railway station, Gara de Nord, runs from the Airport railway station, about 900 m from the airport. Shuttle buses connect this station with the departures and arrivals halls; the tickets are valid for the train and for the transfer bus.[38] The next phase of the expansion aims to locate the train station in the airport itself.

Construction of the M6 metro line will start in 2016-7, connecting the airport to Gara de Nord train station, and the rest of the metro and public transport network.

Bus

Henri Coandă Airport is connected to the public transport company RATB system. The 780 route provides express bus service to Gara de Nord railway station in Bucharest, and the 783 route provides express bus service to the city center 24 hours a day.[39]

Taxi

As of May 2013, taxis serving Henri Coandă Airport can be ordered using a touch screen system in the arrivals terminal, allowing the taxi drivers to enter the pick-up area. This measure was taken after many complaints from passengers who were being ripped off when using illegal, high-price taxis.[40]

Car

The airport is 16.5 km (10.3 mi) north of central Bucharest, to which it is connected by route DN1. The A3 motorway will connect the airport and the city, when finished. Companies such as Avis, Hertz, Europcar and Sixt are located between international departures hall (upper floor) and arrivals hall.[41]

Trivia

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "EAD Basic - Error Page". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  2. Bucharest Airports: record air traffic in 2015
  3. "TAROM S.A. – Identification Data
  4. "Tiriac AIR". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  5. "Contact." Henri Coandă International Airport. Retrieved on 1 December 2011. "The National Company "Bucharest Airports" S.A. Calea Bucurestilor nr. 224 E Otopeni, Ilfov County Postal code 075150 Romania" – Address in Romanian: "Compania Națională "Aeroporturi București" S.A. Calea Bucureștilor nr. 224 E Otopeni, județul Ilfov Cod postal 075150 România"
  6. 1 2 3 4 AIHCB 2007 Report at bucharestairports.ro
  7. 1 2 3 (Romanian) Romanian Ministry of Transportation – Descriptive Note – Otopeni Airport Development Strategy
  8. 1 2 "Bucharest Airport at a10.eu
  9. 1 2 New Departure Hall extension opened (Romanian)
  10. 1 2 Noul Terminal Plecari al Aeroportului Otopeni (Romanian)
  11. "AIS ROMANIA". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  12. (Romanian) The Romanian Ministry of Transportation
  13. Bucharest Otopeni Airport, the last frontier (Romanian)
  14. A new terminal (Romanian)
  15. Arkia's website
  16. "Blue Air: Birmingham - Bucharest, new direct route".
  17. "Blue Air: Castellon - Bucharest, new direct route".
  18. "Blue Air: Bucharest - Cluj-Napoca, new direct route".
  19. "Blue Air: Hamburg - Bucharest, new direct route".
  20. "Blue Air: Iasi - Bucharest, new direct route".
  21. Blue Air launches flights to Lisbon
  22. http://www.air-journal.fr/2015-11-26-blue-air-confirme-son-bucarest-lyon-5154124.html
  23. http://www.zf.ro/companii/blue-air-zboara-din-iunie-catre-stockholm-preturile-incep-de-la-35-de-euro-14981368
  24. http://el.ellinair.com/
  25. http://airlineroute.net/2015/03/23/4uew-w15update1/
  26. "Iberia Express inaugura rutas hacia Bucarest y Cracovia" (in Spanish). ABC (Spain). Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  27. Ryanair's website
  28. "TAROM suspendă zborurile spre Baia Mare". Airlines Travel. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  29. "TAROM Adds Hamburg Service from May 2016". airlineroute. January 11, 2016.
  30. http://airlineroute.net/2015/12/17/ro-alc-s16/
  31. https://wizzair.com/en-GB/FlightSearch
  32. https://wizzair.com/en-GB/about_us/news/wizzen351/
  33. 1 2 "Wizz Air announces new routes to Budapest and Cluj-Napoca from Bucharest". aviationtribune.com. 19 January 2016.
  34. "Wizz Air - Timetable". Wizz Air. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  35. "WIZZ AIR TO BEGIN SERVICE FROM LONDON GATWICK TO BUCHAREST". WizzAir. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  36. 1 2 3 4 Anna.aero database
  37. ORDIN 169/1.801. Planul național de acțiune privind reducerea emisiilor de gaze cu efect de seră în domeniul aviației civile (Romanian)
  38. "Bucharest Airports - Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport - Train connection". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  39. "Bucharest Airports - Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport - Bus". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  40. "Touch screen installed for cab ordering at Otopeni airport in Bucharest". Romania Insider. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  41. "Bucharest Airports - Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport - Rent-a-car". Retrieved 3 June 2015.

External links

Media related to Henri Coandă International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

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