Third city airport plans grounded

Romania’s Government has shelved its plan to build a third airport in the south of Bucharest in Berceni or Adunatii Copaceni, Giurgiu county

April 2009 - From the Print Edition

Transport minister, Radu Berceanu, has stated that Bucharest does not need another airport in addition to those in north Bucharest, Henri Coanda and Baneasa.
Many players from the Romanian airline industry agree, stating that such money would be better invested in upgrading the transport infrastructure to Henri Coanda in Otopeni.
“It’s very easy to build an airport - it’s three km of runway and a building made out of glass and steel, but the infrastructure necessary to get there is the major investment,” says Gheorghe Racaru, general manager of Romanian airline Blue Air.
The airplane boss argues that improving transport links to the international airport is key if Henri Coanda wants to realise its ambition of increasing traffic from five million to six million travellers.
However Klaas Postema, president of the Netherlands Romania Chamber of Commerce, argues that Bucharest is ideally placed to become a transport hub for the region.
There are no major airports in southeast Europe and the land surrounding the Romanian capital is flat, open and suitable for runways. “Bucharest is fantastically located to build an airport,” he says.
This year Minister Berceanu will unify the two airports from Bucharest, Baneasa and Henri Coanda, into a single state-owned company so the two airports will not act in competition.