Craiova Airport
History
The airport was established in 1938 following a decree issued by King Carol II. Through the decree, the airport was meant to be used both as a public airport and a military one in case of war. The airport had a dirt runway with dimensions of 1000×200 m. Between 1950 and 1952, a 2,000 m (6,600 ft) concrete runway, as well as the first airport facilities were constructed. On 6 May 1957, Li-2 aircraft began flying on the Craiova - Bucharest route. The control tower was built in 1959, and between 1959 and 1972 the runway was extended to 2,500 m (8,200 ft). Between 1972 and 1989, other airport facilities were built.
From 1995, the airport was opened to domestic and international traffic, serving only charter flights. A new terminal was opened at Craiova airport in December 2010. Runway renovation works took place in summer 2015. Since July 2014, Craiova Airport is the base for Wizz Air which serves 7 destinations in 4 countries. In March 2018, Ryanair announced it would terminate all services at Craiova by October 2018 which had operated since November 2016 and consisted of a single route to Valencia.
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Craiova Airport:
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Animawings | Seasonal charter: Antalya |
| Wizz Air | Bergamo, Birmingham, Bologna, Charleroi, London–Luton, Rome–Ciampino |
Statistics
 | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
| Year | Passengers | Change | Aircraft movements | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 5,133 |  |
|
|
| 2008 | 12,988 | 153% 
|
|
|
| 2009 | 15,130 | 16.4%
|
|
|
| 2010 | 23,629 | 56.1%
|
|
|
| 2011 | 32,006 | 35.4%
|
|
|
| 2012 | 29,626 | 7.4% 
|
3,394 | |
| 2013 | 40,291 | 35.9%
|
2,246 | 33.9%
|
| 2014 | 138,886 | 244.7%
|
3,506 | 56.1%
|
| 2015 | 116,947 | 15.8%
|
2,999 | 14.5%
|
| 2016 | 222,320 | 90.1%
|
4,018 | 33.9%
|
| 2017 | 447,227 | 101.1%
|
5,960 | 48.3%
|
| 2018 | 493,056 | 10.2%
|
6,793 | 14%
|
| 2019 | 514,544 | 4.3%
|
6,779 | 0.2%
|
| 2020 | 159,552 | 68.9%
|
3,758 | 44.5%
|
| 2021 | 191,510 | 20.0%
|
5,260 | 39.6%
|
| Rank | Airport | Passengers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  London - Luton |
142,678
|
| 2 |  Bergamo |
84,970
|
| 3 | Rome - Ciampino Airport |
43,856
|
| 4 |  Madrid |
40,183
|
| 5 | Bologna |
35,368
|
Military use
Between 1940 and 2004 the airport was used as a military air base. During the Cold War, the 67th Fighter Aviation Regiment was headquartered at Craiova. It was equipped with MiG-15 and MiG-17 fighters, as well as IAR 93 ground attack aircraft. From 1991, the MiG-15s and 17s were replaced with MiG-21s. The 322nd Aviation Maintenance Centre also functioned at the base between 1970 and 2004.
Ground transportation
The airport is connected to the city via bus route 9 (Metro-Central Market-Craiovița Nouă) of the public transport company RAT Craiova. There is a station in front of the airport with all-day service time.
See also
References
- ^ "Situaţii statistice de aeroport pentru perioada 2017 – 2021" (PDF) (in Romanian).
- ^ EAD Basic
- ^ Craiova Airport in 2013 Archived 8 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine at newsair.ro (in Romanian)
- ^ ORDIN 169/1.801. Planul national de actiune privind reducerea emisiilor de gaze cu efect de seră în domeniul aviatiei civile Archived 17 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine (in Romanian)
- ^ "Istoric". aeroportcraiova.ro (in Romanian).
- ^ "Craiova: Noul terminal de plecări al aeroportului va fi inaugurat peste două săptămâni" [The New Terminal of the Airport Will be Inaugurated in Two Weeks]. Adevarul. 25 November 2010.
- ^ "Ryanair to stop flights from Oradea and Craiova, after closing Timisoara base". 16 March 2018.
- ^ "Craiova Airport flight schedule".. Retrieved on 6 August 2022.
- ^ "Star Tours".
- ^ "Wizz Air".
- ^ "RAT-Craiova bus schedule". Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
