# Craiova International Airport

Craiova International Airport (IATA: CRA, ICAO: LRCV) is located in the south-western part of Romania, 7 km (4.3 mi) east of Craiova municipality, one of Romania's largest cities. The airport area is the headquarters of Avioane Craiova (formerly known as IRAv Craiova), the company which built the Romanian IAR-93 and IAR-99 aircraft.

## History

The airport was established in 1938 following a decree issued by King Carol II. Through the decree, the airport was meant to be used both as a public airport and a military one in case of war. The airport had a dirt runway with dimensions of 1000×200 m. Between 1950 and 1952, a 2,000 m (6,600 ft) concrete runway, as well as the first airport facilities were constructed. On 6 May 1957, Li-2 aircraft began flying on the Craiova - Bucharest route. The control tower was built in 1959, and between 1959 and 1972 the runway was extended to 2,500 m (8,200 ft). Between 1972 and 1989, other airport facilities were built.
From 1995, the airport was opened to domestic and international traffic, serving only charter flights. A new terminal was opened at Craiova airport in December 2010. Runway renovation works took place in summer 2015. Since July 2014, Craiova Airport is the base for Wizz Air which serves 7 destinations in 4 countries. In March 2018, Ryanair announced it would terminate all services at Craiova by October 2018 which had operated since November 2016 and consisted of a single route to Valencia.

## Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Craiova Airport:
| Airlines | Destinations |
| AlbaStar | Seasonal charter: Palma de Mallorca (begins 11 June 2025) |
| AlMasria Universal Airlines | Seasonal charter: Hurghada (begins 10 June 2025) |
| Animawings | Seasonal charter: Antalya (begins 9 June 2025), Heraklion (begins 5 June 2025) |
| Cyprus Airways | Seasonal charter: Larnaca (begins 17 June 2025) |
| HiSky | Seasonal charter: Heraklion (begins 16 June 2025) |
| Nouvelair | Seasonal charter: Monastir (begins 17 June 2025) |
| Sky Express | Seasonal charter: Heraklion (begins 16 June 2025) |
| TAROM | Seasonal charter: Antalya (begins 9 June 2025), Rhodes (begins 12 June 2025) |
| Wizz Air | Bari (begins 2 June 2025), Bergamo, Birmingham, Bologna, Charleroi, Dortmund (resumes 2 June 2025), London–Luton, Madrid (begins 1 June 2025), Memmingen (begins 1 June 2025), Rome–Ciampino |

## Statistics

Busiest Routes from Craiova International Airport (2019) :
| Rank | Airport | Passengers |
| 1 | London - Luton | 142,678 |
| 2 | Bergamo | 84,970 |
| 3 | Rome - Ciampino Airport | 43,856 |
| 4 | Madrid | 40,183 |
| 5 | Bologna | 35,368 |

## Military use

Between 1940 and 2004 the airport was used as a military air base. During the Cold War, the 67th Fighter Aviation Regiment was headquartered at Craiova. It was equipped with MiG-15 and MiG-17 fighters, as well as IAR 93 ground attack aircraft. From 1991, the MiG-15s and 17s were replaced with MiG-21s. The 322nd Aviation Maintenance Centre also functioned at the base between 1970 and 2004.

## Ground transportation

The airport is connected to the city via bus route 9 (Metro-Central Market-Craiovița Nouă) of the public transport company RAT Craiova. There is a station in front of the airport with all-day service time.