Henri Coandă International Airport

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Bucharest Henri Coandǎ International Airport
Aeroportul Internaţional Henri Coandă
IATA: OTP - ICAO: LROP
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Compania Naţională AIHCB S.A.
Serves Bucharest
Elevation AMSL 314 ft (96 m)
Coordinates 44°34′20″N, 026°06′08″E
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
08R/26L 11,484 3,500 Asphalt
08L/26R 11,484 3,500 Asphalt
Statistics (2006)
Number of Passengers 3,513,576
Aircraft Movements 58,053

Henri Coandă International Airport (Romanian: Aeroportul Internaţional Henri Coandă) (IATA: OTP, ICAO: LROP) is the largest airport in Romania, as well as one of two airports serving Bucharest (The other airport is Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport). IATA code for Bucharest - all airports - is BUH.

Henri Coandă Intl is located north of the Bucharest metropolitan area, in the town of Otopeni, Ilfov. It is still largely known as the Otopeni Airport (Aeroportul Internaţional Bucureşti Otopeni). In May 2004 it was renamed in honour of Romanian flight pioneer professor Henri Coandă, the inventor of the aircraft jet engine.

OTP received 3.513.576 passengers in 2006 and the airport is expected to handle 4.5 million passengers in 2007.[1]

Contents

[edit] Terminals

International Departures Hall
International Departures Hall
International Arrivals Hall
International Arrivals Hall


Currently the airport has one terminal divided into three halls (sometimes referred as distinct terminals) (International Departures Hall, International Arrivals Hall and the Domestic Flights Hall - at the ground level of the Arrivals Hall - ). The International Departures Hall consists of 36 check-in desks, one finger with 10 gates (5 equipped with jetways), while the Domestic Hall has an extra four busgates. Today's International Arrivals Hall is actually the old Otopeni terminal, while the new Departures Hall, including the finger and the airbridges was built and inaugurated in 1997. A second finger with 7 jetways is under construction and a new building terminal on the east side is in project phase.

[edit] History

During World War II, the airport in Otopeni was used as an air base of the Third Reich of Hitler. 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 1200m. Before 1965, Băneasa Airport was the only airport that Bucharest used for commercial flights. However, 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 existing runway was modernised, extended up to 3500 m, making it even longer than that of Paris' Orly Airport at that time (1965). Also, a new passenger terminal was constructed for domestic and international flights.

In the late 1960s, when President Nixon of the USA visited Romania, a new VIP lounge was created, and in 13 April 1970, the passenger terminal was updated to have a capacity of 1,200,000 passengers per year. The airport slowly become more and more used by airlines, with a growing number of passengers, and 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 35-40 airport movements per hour.

In 1992, Otopeni Airport became a regular member of Airports Council International (ACI). In 1997 a state-of-the-art International Departures Lounge with a capacity of 1000-1200 passengers per hour was opened, as well as five modern airbridges. In 2000, Phase II of the development initiative continued, and the International Arrivals Terminal was improved.

Currently, Henri Coandă Airport is one of the most modern in Eastern Europe and yet development still continues to transform this airport into a state-of-the-art hub for Romanian aviation.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Bucharest OTP is an important airport in Eastern Europe, served by a large variety of European and international airlines. It is the main hub of the Romanian national airline, TAROM. With little exception (Meridiana, Clickair) the airport doesn't serve low fare airlines, as the low cost hub for Bucharest is the Băneasa Airport, located at 10 km south. Starting June 2007, OTP will get again a direct transatlantic link (to New York JFK) for the first time since December 2003 (when TAROM cancelled its long haul operations).

OTP finger (International Departures)
OTP finger (International Departures)
Swiss and TAROM aircraft at OTP
Swiss and TAROM aircraft at OTP

[edit] Scheduled airlines

[edit] International Departures Hall

[edit] Domestic Flights Hall

  • Carpatair (Constanţa, Timişoara)
  • TAROM (Bacău, Baia Mare, Cluj-Napoca, Iaşi, Oradea, Satu-Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Târgu-Mureş, Timişoara)

The transfer between the halls can be done by a free shuttle or using the recently opened passageway which serves as a commercial area.

[edit] Charter airlines

[edit] Cargo airlines

[edit] City access

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

The airport is located at 18 km (11 mi) north of Bucharest downtown; it is currently served by DN1 road; in the future it will be linked to the A3 motorway, currently under construction. The city of Bucharest is accessible by RATB express bus 783, which also provides a connection to the smaller Aurel Vlaicu International Airport. The city can also be accessed by taxi, and there is a proposed plan to link the airport with the Bucharest Metro system (Line M6) and with Gara de Nord (Bucharest Northern Railway Station) by a fast light-rail train.

[edit] Future development

Due to the fact that the actual terminal is approaching its maximum capacity and little expansion is possible on the current location, a new terminal building (Henri Coandă 2) and a hotel are in project phase; the new terminal will be built on the east end, it will consist of four halls, each one of them capable of handling 5 million passengers annually; by 2015 the terminal 2 alone will be able to handle the estimated annual traffic of 20 million passengers. The building terminal will be connected to the future A3 Bucharest - Braşov motorway, to the railway system and to the Bucharest Metro system[4]

[edit] Services

Shopping area located in the International Departures Hall
Shopping area located in the International Departures Hall

[edit] Ancillary services

The main handling agent in the airport is Globeground. The catering services are provided by Abela Rocas [4].

[edit] For Passengers

The international departure area hosts a variety of shops, cafes, lounges and an internet cafe. Airlines distribute Romanian- and English-language newspapers at the departure gates. A Vodafone sells local SIM cards in the baggage pickup area of the international arrivals terminal.


[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1] Henri Coandă Airport website
  2. ^ Cyprus Airways
  3. ^ [2] Strasbourg Airport website
  4. ^ [3] (Romanian) The Romanian Ministry of Transportation

[edit] See also


Airports of Romania
Arad (ARW) | Bacău (BCM) | Baia Mare (BAY) | Bucharest Aurel Vlaicu (BBU) | Bucharest Henri Coandă (OTP) | Caransebeş (CSB) | Cluj Napoca (CLJ) | Constanţa (CND) | Craiova (CRA) | Iaşi (IAS) | Oradea (OMR) | Satu Mare (SUJ) | Sibiu (SBZ) | Suceava (SCV) | Târgu Mureş (TGM) | Timişoara (TSR) | Tulcea (TCE)
Projected: Braşov | Bucharest Alexeni


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