Cluj-Napoca International Airport
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| Cluj-Napoca International Airport Aeroportul Internaţional Cluj-Napoca |
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| IATA: CLJ - ICAO: LRCL | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Cluj County Council | ||
| Serves | Cluj-Napoca | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,036 ft (315 m) | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Website | www.airportcluj.ro/ | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 08/26 | 6,890 | 2,100 | Concrete |
| Statistics (2006) | |||
| Number of Passengers | 244,336 | ||
| Aircraft Movements | ??? | ||
Cluj-Napoca International Airport (IATA: CLJ, ICAO: LRCL) is a major airport in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. It was initially known as Someşeni Airport as it is located 8 km east of the city centre, in the Someşeni area, which is now within the Cluj-Napoca city limits. In terms of traffic, it is the fourth airport in Romania, after Bucharest Henri Coandă, Timişoara and Bucharest Aurel Vlaicu. Its size and location (on the European route E576), makes it the main airport in Transylvania (north-western Romania).
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[edit] History
The Cluj-Napoca Airport was founded on 1 April 1932 by the Romanian Ministry of Industry and Trade. Until the civil airport was built, the first operations used the Someşeni Military Aerodrome, that was founded by the Romanian National Service of Air Navigation (Romanian: Serviciul Naţional de Navigaţie Aerianǎ SNNA) in 1928. The SNNA was set up by the Romanian Ministry of War for opening an air transportation line between Cluj and Bucharest. The first aircraft used was the Farman-Goliath aircraft, a plane with two engines and ten places built by the Farman Aviation Works.
In 1933, the Cluj Airport was declared an International Airport by the Romanian Government. The first international flight took place on 11 September 1933 and it was a CSA Czech Airlines Prague-Cluj-Bucharest flight. The aircrafts used on this route were eight places Avia-Fokkers aircrafts. In the following years, other there were several new routes opened, such as the Aeroflot Moscow-Cluj-Prague flight, opened on 15 November 1935, which was operated with McDonnell Douglas DC-2 2-engine aircrafts with 14 places, registered as USSR-M25 and USSR-M26. Internal flights were also operated in this period, such as Cluj-Satu-Mare, Chernivtsi-Cluj-Arad using Lockheed L-10 Electra ten-passenger aircrafts and de Havilland Dragon Rapide aircrafts. In the late 1930s the airport recorded a steady growth and the employees number rose from 6 in 1934 to 16 in 1939. The passengers terminal was also built in this period, being inaugurated in 1939.
During World War II, the airport became a military airport, being considered the most important in Transylvania. In 1940, as a result of the Second Vienna Award, Northern Transylvania (including Cluj) was ceded to Hungary and thus the airport was used by the Hungarian Air Force and German Luftwaffe. In October 1944, the Hungarian forces in the city were defeated by the Romanian and Soviet armies. By the time of the re-conquest of the airport by the Romanian No. 4 Fighting Squadron Focşani, in late September 1944, the airport was completely destroyed.
After the war, the airport operations were resumed with Tarom internal flights connecting Cluj to other Romanian major cities. The aircrafts used were the Lisunov Li-2 / Douglas DC-3 and Ilyushin Il-14 aircrafts.
In the 1960s an extensive modernisation of the airport begun. In 1969 the new passengers terminal was opened and by 1970 the airport was fully equipped with all the safety facilities.
The airport remained a domestic airport until September 1996, when it was once again opened to both passengers and cargo international traffic. The extension of the terminal building was also started in 1996 and since August 1997 it is run by the Cluj County Council. By 2001 the extension of the airport building was finished, the runway lighting system was modernised and the 1st category Instrument Landing System was implemented.
In 2006 the airport director, David Ciceo, stated in Evenimentul Zilei that the runway length had been extended from 1,850 m to 2,100 m.[1] However, as of February 2007 the Romanian Aeronautical Information Publication, as used by the International Civil Aviation Organization and pilots worldwide, was still listing the runway length as 1,850 m.[2]
[edit] Airlines and destinations
[edit] Scheduled airlines
- Alpi Eagles (Venice)
- Blue Air (Bucharest-Aurel Vlaicu, Valencia, Barcelona)
- Carpatair (Budapest, Timişoara)
- TAROM (Bologna, Bucharest-Henri Coandă, Frankfurt, Madrid, Milan-Malpensa, Vienna)
[edit] Charter airlines
- Air Malta (Malta) seasonal [starts June 12, 2007]
- Karthago Airlines (Monastir)
- Nouvelair (Monastir) seasonal
- TAROM (Antalya)
[edit] Cargo airlines
TNT Airways and TAROM Cargo operate cargo facilities at the Cluj-Napoca airport.
[edit] Statistics
Since becoming an international airport, in September 1996, the airport has experienced some very significant increases in terms of traffic. In 2003 for example, the increase for the number of passengers - 22% from the previous year - and cargo activity - 37% for merchandise (90.7 tonnes) and 126.1% for postal mail (15.6 metric tons) - were the highest in Romania. The increase in movements in the same year (6.1%) came second in Romania, after Timişoara (31.3%).
By 2010 it is estimated that 400,000 passengers will use the Cluj-Napoca International Airport. A new passenger terminal (called The Schengen Terminal) is planned to be built in the near future.
| Year | Passengers | Movements | Cargo (tonnes) |
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| without transit | including transit | |||
| 1999 | 59,353 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 2000 | 75,750 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 2001 | 90,128 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 2002 | 105,091 | 106,776 | 4,127 | 73.1 |
| 2003 | 121,037 | 130,267 | 4,379 | 106.3 |
| 2004 | 162,668 | 177,862 | 6.697 | n/a |
| 2005 | 202,556 | n/a | 8,018 | 313.0 |
| 2006 | 244,366 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
[edit] Ground transportation
[edit] Car
The airport is located 8 km east of the city centre on the European route E576. The drive from the city centre takes about 20 minutes. Passengers driving to the airport can use the car park located in the immediate vicinity of the terminal building. The prices for short stay are 1 leu/15min, 2.5 lei/1 hour, 10 lei/5 hours, 12 lei/15 hours, or 15 lei/24 hours, while those for long stay are 14 Euros/month or 110 Euros/year.
[edit] Bus
RATUC, the local public transport company, operates its Route No. 8 that connects the airport with the Mihai Viteazul Square in the city centre. The No. 8 bus runs every 30 minutes on Monday-Friday from 5:30 to 22:30, and on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 5:30 to 22:00 and the travel time between the airport and the city centre is approximately 30 minutes.
[edit] Taxi
There are usually a wide range of taxis waiting in the airport car park, just off the terminal building. Some of them have significantly higher tariffs than the others, therefore it is advisable to only use the ones clearly displaying the tariff, usually about 1 leu (approximately 0.3 Euros) per kilometre.
[edit] Car Hire
Car hire is available in the terminal building from Autorent, Avis Rent A Car System, The Hertz Corporation, Sixt, Dollar-Thrifty Automotive Group, Rodna Trans, Jettour, Romana Impex.
[edit] Passengers Facilities
- Snack bar
- Exchange office
- Car hire
- ATM: BancPost and Banca Transilvania (accepts MasterCard, Visa, Maestro)
- Tourism agency: Wens Tour
- Customs commissionaires: Express Spedition, Napotrans, World Media Trans
- Courier service: TNT
- Handicraft articles and publications: UAP, Vitrina Advertising
[edit] Latest News
- Air Malta have announced that between 12 July 2007 and 13 September 2007 they will operate scheduled weekly flights (on Thursdays) from Cluj-Napoca to Malta International Airport.
- On 18 December 2006, Blue Air have announced that starting with their 2007 summer schedule (25 March 2007 - 27 October 2007) the company will introduce a direct flight connecting Cluj-Napoca with Barcelona. The flights are supposed to be twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
- As of 12 December 2006, Clubair, who used to link the Cluj-Napoca International Airport with Bologna and Verona, has ceased all operations due to financial problems.
- Starting from November 2006, Blue Air operates flights from Cluj-Napoca to Valencia. Before that date, the Blue Air Bucharest-Valencia flight was operated via Târgu Mureş.
- Starting from 29 October 2006, Blue Air (the only Romanian low-cost carrier) operates flights to Bucharest. This is the first low-cost carrier to operate from Cluj-Napoca International Airport.
[edit] Accidents and Incidents
- On 5 September 1986, at about 17:00, a fully-loaded Antonov An-24RV aircraft departed Bucharest Otopeni Airport, bound for Cluj-Napoca. When the landing procedure began, one of the flight attendants, Aurelia Grigore, realized that the aircraft was landing at higher than normal speed. When the main landing gear touched ground, it bounced repeatedly until the aircraft stopped. The front of the aircraft was on fire. Grigore realized they had an emergency situation. With her flight attendant colleague, she decided to start deboarding passengers. She opened the emergency exit and she let the stairs down, but the stairs weren't touching the ground because the front gear was broken. She was helped by Emil Hosu, a famous actor. "He was one of the few people that didn't panic and helped us evacuate the aircraft in safety", said Grigore. After evacuating the passengers they returned to help the pilots who were trapped in the cockpit. "The cockpit was on fire and we lost any faith that we could save them". The next moments were horrible for all passengers and flight crew. The aircraft was destroyed by flames and with the pilots still on board. After 10 minutes, they saw one of the copilots trying to escape through a window. "He told us his foot was stuck and that he couldn't get it out. We tried to help him, but we couldn't. Finally he managed to get out of the aircraft on fire. He was completely burned, you couldn't even look at him. It was terrible. The other 2 pilots burned alive as we watched them, helpless". The copilot died also. He was transported to the ER but died the next day because of the burns. The authorities said that the accident was due to an equipment malfunction. The 3 pilots were the only casualties.
- On 21 January 2006, at about 18:45, an Austrian Arrows flight landed safely at Cluj-Napoca International Airport after a malfunction. The flight was on route to Vienna Airport from Chişinău Airport, Moldova. Nobody was hurt.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official site
- World Aero Data airport information for LRCL
[edit] References
- ^ "Aeroportul Cluj trece la categoria semigrea", Evenimentul Zilei, 2006, September 5. Retrieved on February 15, 2007.
- ^ "Romanian AIP, Aerodrome Text Data LRCL-2-7-6 08 June 2006" from the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation
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