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Cluj-Napoca International Airport Aeroportul Internaţional Cluj-Napoca
Terminal building
IATA: CLJ – ICAO: LRCL
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		Cluj County Council
Operator		Romanian Civil Aviation Authority
Serves		Cluj-Napoca
Location		Someşeni area, Cluj-Napoca
Elevation AMSL		315 m / 1,036 ft
Coordinates		46°47′06″N, 023°41′10″E
Website		www.airportcluj.ro/
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
08/26	2,100	6,890	Concrete
Statistics (2006)
Passengers			244,336

Cluj-Napoca International Airport (IATA: CLJ, ICAO: LRCL) serves the city of 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).

Contents 1 History 2 Airlines and destinations 2.1 Scheduled airlines 2.2 Charter airlines 2.3 Cargo airlines 3 Development 4 Statistics 5 Ground transportation 5.1 Car 5.2 Bus 5.3 Taxi 5.4 Car Hire 6 Passengers Facilities 7 Latest News 8 Accidents and Incidents 9 See also 10 External links 11 References

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 twin-engine plane with space for ten passengers built by the Farman Aviation Works.

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. Internal flights were also operated in this period, such as Cluj-Satu-Mare and Chernivtsi-Cluj-Arad using Lockheed L-10 Electra ten-passenger aircraft and de Havilland Dragon Rapide aircraft. In the late 1930s the airport recorded a 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.

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's operations were resumed with Tarom internal 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 modernisation of the airport begun. In 1969 the new passenger 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 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 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]

• Austrian Airlines (Vienna) - operated in codeshare with TAROM using sometimes a TAROM aircraft, sometimes an Austrian Airlines Aicraft
• British Airways (London-Gatwick)^[3] [starts 28 March 2008]
• Carpatair (Budapest, Timişoara)
• Czech Airlines (Prague) [starts April 2008]
• Lufthansa (Frankfurt, Munich)^[3] [starts April 2008]
• SkyEurope (Vienna) [starts March 2008]^[4]
• TAROM (Barcelona, Bologna, Bucharest-Otopeni, Frankfurt, London-Gatwick, Madrid, Milan-Malpensa, Satu Mare^[3], Vienna)
• Wizz Air (Barcelona, Bucharest-Bǎneasa [starts 28 February 2008], Budapest, Dortmund [starts 28 February 2008]^[5], London-Luton, Milan Bergamo [starts May 15, 2008], Rome-Fiumicino, Valencia [starts May 15, 2008])

• Air Malta (Malta) seasonal
• Blue Air (Antalya)
• Carpatair (Rhodos)
• Karthago Airlines (Monastir, Sharm El Sheikh)
• Nouvelair (Monastir) seasonal
• TAROM (Antalya, Corfu, Heraklion)
• Koral Blue (Sharm El Sheikh)

TNT Airways and TAROM Cargo operate cargo facilities at the Cluj-Napoca airport.

• The construction of the new "Schengen" terminal started on 26 June 2007. According to official statements it will cover some 10,000 square meters, and its construction is supposed to be finalised by April 2008.^[6]
• A new 3,500 metres long runway and a cargo terminal (including a Nokia cargo terminal) are planned to be built. According to Nokia, the company wants to operate at least 2 daily cargo flights from Cluj-Napoca Airport.^[7]
• Local authorities confirmed on 21st September 2007 that they received a visit from a group of officials from Vienna International Airport who showed their interest in buying Cluj Napoca International Airport. ^[8]

Since becoming an international airport, in September 1996, the airport has experienced some very significant increases in terms of traffic. For example in 2003, compared to the previous year, the number of passengers increased by 22%, and cargo activity increased by 37% for merchandise (90.7 tonnes) and 126.1% for postal mail (15.6 metric tons). These increases were the highest in Romania. The increase in movements in the same year (6.1%) came second in Romania, after Timişoara (31.3%).

It is estimated that more than 400,000 passengers will use the Cluj-Napoca International Airport by 2008.

Year	Passengers		Movements	Cargo (tonnes)
	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

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.

The aiport bus station is approximately 100 metres from the terminal building. After exiting the terminal building, there is a 50 metres walk through the car park to the main road and then another 50 metres walk towards west (turn right) on the main road.

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.

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 1.4 lei (approximately 0.4 Euros) per kilometre.

Car hire is available in the terminal building from Autorent, Avis, Hertz, Sixt, Dollar-Thrifty, Rodna Trans, Jettour, Romana Impex.

• 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

• Wizz Air have announced on 18 October 2007 that starting from 13 November 2007 all their operations to/from Târgu Mureş will be moved to Cluj-Napoca ^[5].
• Starting on 28 October 2007 TAROM will operate direct flights between Cluj-Napoca and London Gatwick. The flights will be operated three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
• According to statements made by airport officials, Germanwings are considering to start operating from Cluj-Napoca Airport in 2008, but the destinations (probably their hubs Koln, Stuttgart, Berlin and/or Hamburg) and flight frequencies have not been made public yet. Also, airport officials said that flights to the US might start once the new 3,500 metres runway is built.^[9]
• Blue Air have announced that they will not operate any flight to/from Cluj-Napoca in their winter schedule (from 29 October 2007, until 25 March 2008). Therefore the last Blue Air flights Cluj-Napoca - Valencia and Cluj-Napoca - Barcelona will be operated on 28 October 2007.
• 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.
• Since 25 March 2007 Blue Air operates direct flights between Cluj-Napoca and Barcelona. The flights are operated 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.
• Since November 2006, Blue Air operates direct flights between Cluj-Napoca and Valencia. The flights are operated twice a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays.

• 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.

• Aviation in Romania
• Transport in Romania

• Official site
• Airport information for LRCL at World Aero Data

1. ^ "Aeroportul Cluj trece la categoria semigrea", Evenimentul Zilei, 2006, September 5. Retrieved on 2007-02-15. 
2. ^ "Romanian AIP, Aerodrome Text Data LRCL-2-7-6 08 June 2006" from the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation
3. ^ ^{a b c} http://www.ziuadecj.ro/action/article?ID=4596
4. ^ http://www.informatiacluj.ro/index.php?id=12&tx_ttnews[swords]=aeroport&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=2848&tx_ttnews[backPid]=11&cHash=23d6253009
5. ^ ^{a b} http://wizzair.com/breaking%5Fnews/ Wizz Air moves its operations from Tirgu-Mures to Cluj
6. ^ http://www.zf.ro/articol_130212/terminalul_de_pasageri_al_aeroportului_international_cluj_napoca_va_fi_finalizat_in_9_luni_.html
7. ^ http://www.zf.ro/articol_119034/nokia_are_nevoie_de_un_terminal_cargo_pe_aeroportul_din_cluj.html
8. ^ http://www.zf.ro/articol_142079/ziua_de_cluj__vienezii_vor_sa_cumpere_aeroportul_din_cluj.html
9. ^ http://www.ziuadecj.ro/action/article?ID=2696

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 | Brăila | Bucharest Alexeni