Cluj International Airport

Early years

The Cluj Airport was founded on 1 April 1932 by the Romanian Ministry of Industry and Trade.^[5] Until the civil airport was built, the area was used as a military airfield. On 15 December 1917, the County Council of Kolozsvár (today Cluj-Napoca) gave land in the settlement of Szamosfalva (today the Someșeni district of Cluj-Napoca) in order to develop a military airport.^[6] After the Union of Transylvania with Romania, the Someșeni Military Aerodrome was used for the first civil operations by the National Service of Air Navigation (Romanian: Serviciul Național de Navigație Aeriană SNNA). The SNNA was set up in 1928 by the Romanian Ministry of War for opening an air transportation line between Cluj and Bucharest. The first passenger plane landed on 2 August 1928.^[7] The first aircraft used was the Farman-Goliath aircraft, a twin-engine plane with space for ten passengers built by the Farman Aviation Works.^[5] Later, the Bucharest-Cluj service was operated by LARES (Liniile Aeriene Române Exploatate de Stat, Romanian Airlines Operated by the State) with Junkers F 13 planes.^[8]

In 1933, Cluj Airport was declared an International Airport by the Romanian Government. The first international flight, a CSA Czech Airlines Prague-Cluj-Bucharest flight, took place on 11 September 1933. The aircraft used on this route were eight-seat Avia-Fokker aircraft. In the following years, several new routes were opened, such as the Aeroflot Moscow-Cluj-Prague flight, opened on 15 November 1935, which was operated with 14-seat McDonnell Douglas DC-2 twin-engine aircraft, registered as USSR-M25 and USSR-M26. Domestic flights were also operated in this period, such as Cluj-Satu-Mare and Cernăuți-Cluj-Arad using Lockheed Model 10 Electra ten-passenger aircraft and de Havilland Dragon Rapide aircraft. In the late 1930s, the airport recorded steady growth and the employees' number rose from 6 in 1934 to 16 in 1939. The passenger terminal was also built in this period, being inaugurated in 1939.^[5]

During World War II, the airport became again a military airport, as it was considered to be 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. Malert airline also operated flights to Budapest during these years. In October 1944, the Hungarian forces in the city were defeated by the Romanian and Soviet armies. By the time of the reconquest of the airport by the Romanian No. 4 Fighting Squadron Focșani, in late September 1944, the airport was completely destroyed.^{[citation needed]}

After the war, the airport's operations were resumed with TAROM domestic flights connecting Cluj to other major Romanian cities. The aircraft used were the Lisunov Li-2 / Douglas DC-3 and Ilyushin Il-14 aircraft. In the 1960s, an extensive modernization of the airport began. In 1969, a new passenger terminal was opened. By 1970, the airport was fully equipped with all of the safety facilities.^{[clarification needed][citation needed]}

Development since the 1990s

The airport remained a domestic airport until September 1996, when it was once again opened to both international passenger and cargo 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 modernized, and an Instrument Landing System (ILS) CAT I was iinstalled.

In 2007 and 2008, the airport posted year-over-year growth of 60% and 93% respectively, reaching over 750,000 passengers in 2008.^[9]

The construction of a new terminal, capable of handling 2 million passengers annually, started on 26 June 2007. The 10,812 m² (116,380 sq ft) arrivals hall was inaugurated on 22 May 2008,^[8][10] followed by the new departures hall, with a total area of 16,150 m² (173,800 sq ft), inaugurated on 15 May 2009.^[8][11] The connecting building between the two terminals was inaugurated in November 2009. The total project cost was an estimated €40 million.^[11][12] In February 2009, the ILS equipment was upgraded to CAT II.

Cluj Airport exceeded the 1,000,000 passenger mark in 2010.^[13] On 8 September 2011, the construction works for building a new runway of 2,100 m (6,890 ft) began. The work represented the first phase of the investment that aims at a take-off/landing runway of 3,500 m (11,483 ft).^[14] The new runway 07/25 officially went into operation on 26 October 2013.^[15] The old runway 08/26 became a taxiway, after the new runway opened.^[1]

In 2014, ROMATSA held a competition for the creation of a new control tower for Cluj-Napoca Airport. Of the 22 projects that were submitted in the competition,^[16] as winner the project of Outline Architecture Office was chosen,^[17] an architectural design office based in Bucharest. The tower resembles a tulnic and will have a height of 42 m. The costs for the construction of the new control tower will be borne by ROMATSA.^[18]

In June 2023, the airport began work to expand the departure hall and the apron.^[19]Opened on 31 May 2024, the 7,200 m² (77,500 sq ft) extension added three more gates to the previous nine.^[19]

On 24 November 2023 the Avram Iancu Cluj International Airport celebrated serving its 3,000,000th passenger, becoming the first regional airport in Romania to exceed this threshold.^[20]

For the future, the airport development project foresees the construction of the second terminal with an area of 40,000 m² (430,556 sq ft).^[21]

Road

The airport is located 8 km (5.0 mi) east of the city centre on the European route E576. The drive from the city centre takes about 20 minutes.

Public transportation

CTP Cluj Napoca, the local public transport company, operates its trolleybus No. 8 that connects the airport with the Mihai Viteazul Square in the City Center and trolleybus No. 5 to the Main Rail Station. Other suburban lines connects the airport to the neighboring localities. The express line, A1E, goes directly to the Mihai Viteazul Square without any stations.