# Chișinău International Airport

Chișinău International Airport (Romanian: Aeroportul Internațional Chișinău; IATA: RMO, ICAO: LUKK) is Moldova's main international airport, located 13 km (8.1 mi) southeast of the centre of Chișinău, the capital city. It served as headquarters for Air Moldova, the country's national airline.
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). It is the only airport in Moldova with regular passenger flights.

## 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 4,270 m$^2$ (46,000 sq ft) was added to the renovated old terminal building of 7,600 m$^2$ (82,000 sq ft). The project covered the construction of 3,000 m$^2$ (32,000 sq ft) curtain walls, 3,200 m$^2$ (34,000 sq ft) composite panels, 12,185 m$^2$ (131,160 sq ft) asphalt road, a treatment plant with a capacity of 3,450 m$^3$ (122,000 cu ft) 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.

## 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.

## Airlines and destinations

The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at Chișinău International Airport:
| Airlines | Destinations |
| Aegean Airlines | Athens |
| Air Anka | Seasonal charter: Antalya |
| Air Baltic | Riga |
| Austrian Airlines | Vienna |
| Azerbaijan Airlines | Baku |
| Eurowings | Cologne/Bonn, Stuttgart |
| FlyOne | Alicante (begins 7 June 2025), Amsterdam, Berlin, Bologna, Bremen (begins 17 April 2025), Brussels, Copenhagen (begins 17 June 2025), Dubai–International, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Hahn, Istanbul, Lisbon, London–Luton, London–Stansted, Lyon (begins 19 June 2025), Manchester, Milan–Malpensa, Munich, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Parma, Prague, Rome–Fiumicino, Stuttgart (begins 30 March 2025), Tbilisi, Tel Aviv, Thessaloniki, Turin (begins 17 April 2025), Verona Seasonal: Barcelona, Dubai–Al Maktoum, Heraklion, Larnaca, Madrid, Nice, Palma de Mallorca (begins 30 May 2025), Valencia Seasonal charter: Antalya, Bodrum, Izmir, Sharm El Sheikh, Tivat |
| FlyOne Armenia | Yerevan |
| Freebird Airlines | Antalya (begins 1 May 2025) |
| Georgian Wings | Seasonal: Tbilisi |
| HiSky | Beauvais, Bergamo, Bologna, Bucharest–Otopeni, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Istanbul, London–Stansted, Rome–Fiumicino, Tel Aviv, Venice Seasonal charter: Hurghada |
| Israir | Tel Aviv |
| LOT Polish Airlines | Warsaw–Chopin |
| Lufthansa | Frankfurt |
| Mavi Gök Airlines | Seasonal charter: Antalya |
| Pegasus Airlines | Antalya, Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen |
| SkyUp Airlines | Alicante (begins 19 May 2025), Athens (begins 19 May 2025), Barcelona (begins 7 May 2025), Beauvais (begins 18 April 2025), Heraklion (begins 19 April 2025), Larnaca (begins 17 April 2025), Lisbon (begins 18 April 2025), Nice (begins 19 May 2025), Palma de Mallorca (begins 24 May 2025), Thessaloniki (begins 20 May 2025) Seasonal: Corfu (begins 24 May 2025) |
| Sky Vision Airlines | Seasonal charter: Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh |
| Sundor | Tel Aviv |
| Tailwind Airlines | Seasonal charter: Antalya |
| TAROM | Bucharest–Otopeni |
| Transavia | Seasonal: Paris–Orly (begins 7 July 2025) |
| Turkish Airlines | Istanbul |
| Wizz Air | Abu Dhabi, Barcelona (begins 18 August 2025), Beauvais, Berlin, Bologna, Bucharest–Otopeni (begins 30 March 2025), Budapest, Charleroi, Dortmund, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden (begins 27 October 2025), Katowice (begins 1 June 2025), Larnaca (begins 19 August 2025), London–Luton, Maastricht (begins 28 October 2025), Memmingen, Milan–Malpensa, Nuremberg, Rome–Fiumicino, Venice, Verona, Vienna, Warsaw–Chopin, Wrocław (begins 20 August 2025) |

## Statistics

In 2022, Chișinău Airport handled around 2.31 million passengers, an increase of over 25% compared to 2021 (1.84 million passengers).
| Year | Passengers (total) | Change | Aircraft movements (total) | Change | Cargo (tonnes) | Change |
| 2000 | 254,178 | N/A | 9,521 | N/A | 2,400 |
| 2001 | 274,662 | 8.0% | 9,866 | 3.6% | 1,700 |
| 2002 | 296,431 | 7.9% | 10,416 | 5.5% | 1,300 |
| 2003 | 341,695 | 15.2% | 9,502 | 8.7% | 1,300 |
| 2004 | 421,011 | 23.2% | 10,759 | 13.2% | 1,400 |
| 2005 | 482,741 | 14.6% | 11,126 | 3.4% | 1,700 |
| 2006 | 548,331 | 13.5% | 10,065 | 9.5% | 1,800 |
| 2007 | 688,782 | 25.6% | 11,623 | 15.4% | 2,300 |
| 2008 | 847,881 | 23.1% | 12,935 | 11.3% | 2,468.8 |
| 2009 | 808,096 | 4.7% | 12,355 | 4.5% | 2,033.2 | 17.6% |
| 2010 | 937,030 | 15.9% | 13,751 | 11.3% | 2,399.2 | 18.0% |
| 2011 | 1,046,086 | 11.6% | 15,022 | 9.2% | 2,666.2 | 11.1% |
| 2012 | 1,220,506 | 16.7% | 16,113 | 7.3% | 2,765.4 | 3.7% |
| 2013 | 1,321,236 | 8.2% | 16,858 | 4.6% | 2,951.8 | 6.7% |
| 2014 | 1,781,166 | 34.8% | 19,756 | 17.2% | 2,923.5 | 0.9% |
| 2015 | 2,226,441 | 25.0% | 22,468 | 13.7% | 2,891.8 | 1.1% |
| 2016 | 2,206,266 | 0.9% | 22,033 | 1.9% | 2,774.3 | 4.1% |
| 2017 | 2,744,465 | 24.4% | 27,113 | 23.1% | 3,488.7 | 25.7% |
| 2018 | 2,828,626 | 3.1% | 27,949 | 3.1% | 4,186.6 | 20.0% |
| 2019 | 2,995,530 | 5.9% | 27,092 | 3.1% | 3,767.7 | 10.0% |
| 2020 | 900,731 | 69.9% | 9,870 | 63.6% | | |
| 2021 | 1,822,505 | 102.3% | 16,590 | 68.1% | | |
| 2022 | 2,254,199 | 23.7% | 19,199 | 15.7% | | |
| 2023 | 2,838,073 | 25.9% | 24,947 | 29.9% | 2,652.6 | |
| 2024 | 4,142,418 | 46.0% | 33,251 | 33.3% | 3,390.3 | 27.8% |

### 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 Airlines FlyOne |
| 2. | Bucharest | Henri Coandă International Airport | 26 | TAROM HiSky |
| 3. | Antalya | Antalya Airport | 22 | Pegasus Airlines FlyOne Turkish Airlines Southwind Airlines |
| 4. | Tel Aviv | Ben Gurion Airport | 17 | FlyOne HiSky |
| 5. | London | London Luton Airport | 14 | FlyOne Wizz Air |
| 6. | Yerevan | Zvartnots International Airport | 14 | FlyOne FlyOne Armenia |
| 7. | Warsaw | Warsaw Chopin Airport | 13 | LOT Polish Airlines |
| 8. | Vienna | Vienna Airport | 13 | Austrian Airlines |
| 9. | Dublin | Dublin Airport | 11 | FlyOne HiSky |
| 10. | Heraklion | Heraklion International Airport | 9 | FlyOne |

## Other facilities

* The Civil Aviation Authority has its headquarters on the airport property.

## 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.
* 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.

## Interesting facts

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 to a decommissioned Tu-134 aircraft