Airport Information

The majority of European airlines and low-cost companies land on Henri Coandă (Otopeni) Airport, 20km from Bucharest. The airport includes additional commercial services, such as rent-a-car and hotel shuttle offices, pharmacies, stores, bars and restaurants, ATMs and exchange offices.

Aurel Vlaicu (Băneasa) Airport, 10km from Bucharest’s centre, now under renovation, will be used as a city airport for business and VIP flights. This airport is easier to reach, but it currently doesn’t offer too many facilities for travellers.

Apart from the airports in Bucharest, there are other smaller international airports in Timișoara, Cluj-Napoca, Sibiu, Iași, Arad, Târgu Mureș, Baia Mare, Bacău, Suceava, Craiova and Constanța, which also offer good airline services.

Usually, the airports are located in the vicinity of the big cities, several kilometres away from the centre. When you travel, it is important to know the distances to and from the airport, as well as the duration, cost and the means of transportation and transfer. There are buses and trains taking travellers from the cities to the airports and back, and taxis are also a good option. The same things apply not only for the Otopeni airport in Bucharest, but also for the others cities served by an airport.

 

In Bucharest, the best way to cover the distance between the city centre and Otopeni Airport is by bus. Bus 783 functions daily between 5:30 to 23:00 and it takes 45 minutes to get to the city centre. The tickets should not exceed 1-2 euro per person. A faster but more expensive possibility is to take a taxi. This will cost you 60 – 70 lei (15 – 20 euro), and you should consider it as an option only if you are in a big hurry or if you are not travelling alone. Recommended taxi companies are Cristaxi, Cobălcescu and Taxi Fly. 

 

If Bucharest is not your final destination, you might need some info on how to get to other cities after you have landed on Otopeni. The train is the best solution, as there is a direct line connecting Otopeni Airport to Gara de Nord (the North Railway Station), where you can take the train to other cities. From the airport’s Arrivals terminal, there are buses taking you to the Airport train station. Tickets’ prices (6,8 lei) include both the train and bus transfer and can be bought from the booking office situated in the airport’s International Arrival area.

When you leave Bucharest, depending on the airline and the destination, you should get to the airport approximately 2 hours before the departure time. Take into consideration Bucharest’s intense traffic, which means that you might want to reserve an extra hour to get to and from the airport during the week. Take the bus instead of a taxi, as it is cheaper and it will save you some 15 euro. However, if you need to get to the airport quickly, ask at the hotel reception to call you a taxi from a cheap and reliable company.

Tarom, Romania’s national airline company, operates over 50 direct or connecting, internal and external flights from Otopeni Airport. It links Bucharest to other cities in Romania (Baia Mare, Cluj-Napoca, Iași, Oradea, Sibiu, Suceava, Târgu Mureș and Timișoara).

Carpatair company, based in Timișoara, links this city to Bucharest and other airports in Romania and Europe (mainly in Germany and Italy). There are internal flights between the capital and the following cities: Craiova, Constanţa, Arad, Bacău, Iaşi, Sibiu and Timişoara.

The domestic airlines also operate international flights. Tarom connects Bucharest to important airports in America (Detroit, New York, Washington), the Middle East (Amman, Beirut, Cairo, Damasc, Dubai, Tel Aviv) and Europe, while Carpatair operates over 350 flights per week to 28 destinations in 8 countries.

 

Almost all the European countries have frequent airline connections to Romania, while some of the capitals in Eastern Europe have more than one flight per day to Bucharest, operated by their national airline companies. Air France, Al Italia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, KLM, LOT, Lufthansa and Malev are only some of the airlines that operate international flights to Romania.

 

With Romania’s accession to the European Union, the low-cost companies rapidly multiplied their flights to Bucharest and the other major cities in the country. The most important low-cost operators in Romania are Blue Air and Wizz Air. Their services are cheaper than those of the bigger national companies and the tickets can be purchased from travel agencies or online.