Chișinău International Airport

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

thumb|left|Interior of the airport after reconstruction

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 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. 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.

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: