Chișinău Eugen Doga International Airport (; ) is Moldova's main international airport, located southeast of the centre of Chișinău, the capital city. It is the 13th-busiest airport in post-Soviet states as well as 85th-busiest airport in Europe. It is the only airport in Moldova with regular passenger flights.

On 18 January 2024, the IATA airport code KIV, derived from Kishinev (the Russian and former English name of the city), was changed to RMO (Republica Moldova, "Republic of Moldova" in Romanian). Eugen Doga is the airport's namesake.

History Early years The first scheduled flights to Chișinău started on 24 June 1926, on the route Bucharest–Galați–Chișinău and Iași. The flights were operated by CFRNA, later LARES. A commemorative plaque, describing the first flight to Chișinău, was placed in the airport.

The main terminal was built in the 1970s, with a capacity of 1,200,000 passengers per year.

Development since the 1990s

On 31 May 1995, Chișinău Airport was awarded the status of an international airport.

A major modernization and renovation of the airport was completed in 2002 by the Turkish company Akfen Holding. An annex terminal building with an area of was added to the renovated old terminal building of . The project covered the construction of curtain walls, composite panels, asphalt road, a treatment plant with a capacity of a day, complete mechanical heating, ventilation and electrical systems, along with the X-ray security, luggage handling, master clock, and flight information systems. The annual capacity of the airport increased to 5.4 million passengers.Chișinău International Airport at azworldairports.com

Chișinău International Airport is a member of Airports Council International.

The airport closed temporarily on 24 February 2022, as Moldovan airspace was closed in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 22 March 2022, the Civil Aviation Authority of Moldova partially reopened the country's airspace, which led to the resumption of operations at the airport.

On 14 March 2023, WizzAir suspended flights to/from Moldova due to concerns over airspace safety. After this, Igor Grosu, the president of the Moldovan Parliament, met with representatives of Ryanair to convince the company to operate flights at the airport, in order to replace Wizz Air as its main low-cost airline. On 17 October 2024, WizzAir announced their return to Moldova starting from 16 December 2024.

Facilities There were ten check-in desks and five gates at the airport in 2009.About Chisinau International Airport at booking.md VIP and CIP guests are offered special services at the VIP terminal. A visitors' terrace on the second floor opened in December 2006.

Previously, passengers had to present their passport, ticket and their registration (of foreigners – which used to be required). Passengers were allowed in the check-in hall. With the introduction of e-tickets and the abolition of the registration for foreigners, the airport reorganised in late 2006. This resulted in a bigger check-in hall, and customs control is now after check-in.

There are plans to enlarge the airport. The project involves a €19 million loan to Chișinău International Airport for the rehabilitation and upgrade of the existing runway, taxiways, aprons, and ramps, engineering works, safety equipment and other connected core assets of Chișinău International Airport. The European Investment Bank (EIB) is considering co-financing alongside the EBRD for up to an equal amount. Towards the end of 2017, plans for a second runway were unveiled. This runway would take the place of the current taxiway just north of the existing runway. The project began in early 2017. Runway 09–27 started operations on 13 September 2018.

The Civil Aviation Authority has its headquarters on the airport property."Contacts ." Civil Aviation Authority. Retrieved on 4 November 2011. "Postal address: Republica Moldova, Chisinau, Aeroport, MD-2026"

In 2019, Moldovan sculptor Veaceslav Jiglitski installed the sculpture group "Crew" in the passenger check-in hall. At the entrance to the airport there is a monument using a decommissioned Tu-134 aircraft.

Airlines and destinations The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at Chișinău International Airport:

Statistics

In 2022, Chișinău Airport handled around 2.31 million passengers, an increase of over 25% compared to 2021 (1.84 million passengers). YearPassengers (total)European Airport Traffic Trends at anna.aeroChangeAircraft movements (total)In 2013 Chisinau International Airport carried a record number of passengers at airport.mdChangeCargo (tonnes)Change2000254,178N/A9,521N/A2,4002001274,662 8.0%9,866 3.6%1,7002002296,431 7.9%10,416 5.5%1,3002003341,695 15.2%9,502 8.7%1,3002004421,011 23.2%10,759 13.2%1,4002005482,741 14.6%11,126 3.4%1,7002006548,331 13.5%10,065 9.5%1,8002007688,782 25.6%11,623 15.4%2,3002008847,881 23.1%12,935 11.3%2,468.82009808,096 4.7%12,355 4.5%2,033.2 17.6%2010937,030 15.9%13,751 11.3%2,399.2 18.0%20111,046,086 11.6%15,022 9.2%2,666.2 11.1%20121,220,506 16.7%16,113 7.3%2,765.4 3.7%20131,321,236 8.2%16,858 4.6%2,951.8 6.7%20141,781,166 34.8%19,756 17.2%2,923.5 0.9%20152,226,441 25.0%22,468 13.7%2,891.8 1.1%20162,206,266 0.9%22,033 1.9%2,774.3 4.1%20172,744,465 24.4%27,113 23.1%3,488.7 25.7%20182,828,626 3.1%27,949 3.1%4,186.6 20.0%20192,995,530 5.9%27,092 3.1%3,767.7 10.0%2020900,731 69.9%9,870 63.6%20211,822,505 102.3%16,590 68.1%20222,254,199 23.7%19,199 15.7%2023Сîți pasageri au trecut prin Aeroportul Chișinău de la începutul anului NOI.md2,838,07325.9%24,947 29.9%2,652.62024 Aeroportul Internațional Chișinău a înregistrat un trafic de 4,1 milioane de pasageri în 2024 at point.md4,142,41846.0% 33,251 33.3% 3,390.3 27.8%20256,080,43146.8%45,452 36.7%3,500 3.2%

Routes + Busiest international routes at Chișinău Airport by weekly flights Rank City Airport(s) Weekly Departures(16 June 2024) Airlines 1. Istanbul Istanbul Airport 35 Turkish AirlinesFlyOne 2. Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport 26 TAROMHiSky 3. Antalya Antalya Airport 22 Pegasus AirlinesFlyOneTurkish AirlinesSouthwind Airlines 4. Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport 17 FlyOneHiSky 5. London London Luton Airport 14 FlyOneWizz Air 6. Yerevan Zvartnots International Airport 14 FlyOneFlyOne Armenia 7. Warsaw Warsaw Chopin Airport 13 LOT Polish Airlines 8. Vienna Vienna Airport 13 Austrian Airlines 9. Dublin Dublin Airport 11 FlyOneHiSky 10. Heraklion Heraklion International Airport 9 FlyOne

Ground transportation

There are bus and trolleybus lines frequently departing from the airport.

Incidents and accidents At 11:49 on 15 May 1970, CCCP-11149, an Antonov An-10A of Aeroflot's Ulyanovsk Advanced Flying Training College, crashed during a go-around when both engines shut down. All 11 onboard were killed. On 11 April 2008, Kata Air Transport Flight 007, a Sudanese cargo An-32 "Cline" flying from Vienna to Khartoum via Antalya crashed on approach to the airport, killing all eight on board. The plane was returning to the airport, where it had just been repaired, due to engine problems.Popeski, Ron (12 April 2008). "Cargo plane crashes after takeoff from Moldova", Reuters On 30 June 2023, 43-year-old Tajikistani national, Rustam Ashurov, who was wanted for criminal charges in his home country and had been refused entry to Moldova from Turkey, snatched a gun from a border police officer and opened fire, killing a border guard and an airport security official, and injuring another person. The gunman was wounded and arrested. He died in a hospital three days later.

See also Civil Aviation Administration of Moldova List of airports in Moldova List of the busiest airports in Europe List of the busiest airports in the former USSR

References

External links

State Administration of Civil Aviation Administration of Moldova