List of the International Airports in Romania (with Map)

If you are planning a trip to Romania, it’s good to know that there are multiple international airports scattered throughout the country. I am going to list them all in this article, with some extra details to make things easier for you.

Even though very few people know exactly where Romania is on a map, it is a pretty large country and getting from one city to another might prove to be very difficult (or at least take a long time) if you choose to travel by train or car.

Therefore, choosing the correct international airport as an entry point will potentially save you hours of traveling to get to your desired location.

While only a few of these are major airports, offering lots of options in terms of flights and destinations, knowing them all is definitely useful for planning your arrival here or your itinerary in Romania.

For example, most people know about the Bucharest “Henri Coanda” International Airport (sometimes referred to as “Bucharest Otopeni” since this was its former name).

But getting from Bucharest to Timisoara takes over 9 hours. Getting to Cluj Napoca takes even longer. So why not fly directly to Timisoara or Cluj Napoca in about an hour from Bucharest or, even better, land directly in one of those cities?

As you can see, for a country that’s as large as Romania, knowing where the airports are can save you a lot of time and money.

Hopefully this list of international airports in Romania – and the map with them all – will make it as easy as possible for you to get to your desired destination as fast as possible.

Speaking of getting to your destination, you will surely need to rent a car to get from the airport to your hotel and to explore the city. You should check out Discover Cars, a website that lists the best car rental options for the largest cities in the country. 

There are no hidden fees, and you can choose vehicles from over 30 companies, costing as low as 4 Euros/day. Another advantage with Discover Cars is that you can pick up and drop off cars in different places, so you do have more freedom.

Please note: While flights inside Romania from a city to another are relatively new, we’re starting to get more and more options each year in terms of flights taking you from one Romanian city to another as long as there’s an airport there.

Since low cost companies operate in Romania, you might end up with better deals than riding a train. Or at least flying there will be much faster. So definitely check out these options too using the data below!

These being said, below is the map of the international airports in Romania, followed by some details afterwards:

Image via Google Maps

Now let’s get a bit more in depth with some important details about each of these places, ranked from the most popular to the least:

The list of major Airports in Romania:

Bucharest Henri Coanda Airport

This is the largest and busiest airport in Romania. It has the largest number of connecting flights and destinations and is usually the best option for those looking to get into the country from anywhere in the world.

However, if your final destination is Western Romania or the North-West, you should look below for alternatives.

It is listed as OTP airport (or the Otopeni Airport) as it is actually located in Otopeni city (some 20 minutes from Bucharest’s city center). If you’re looking for great places to stay, I have an article listing the best hotels near the airport.

Official website here

Tarom Plane - Romanian airports
Tarom is the state-operated Romanian airline, offering most local flights, but also solid international options.

Cluj: Avram Iancu International Airport

The second largest International Airport in the country, it should be the perfect choice for those looking to get into the North and North-Western parts of the country.

It has a solid number of destinations, but mostly from other European countries. Its IATA code is CLJ.

Official website here

Timisoara: Traian Vuia International Airport

The third largest and airport in Romania in terms of passengers, this one is perfect for those looking to get in the South-Western part of the country (also ideal if you’re planning to visit nearby Serbia or Hungary).

We already know that Timisoara is beautiful, as we already discussed. You will find the airport listed as TSR.

Official website here

Iași International Airport

If you’re looking to get into Moldova or the North-Eastern parts of the country, this airport is your best choice. It’s also the one that closes the list of Major International airports in the country. Its IATA code is IAS.

Official website here

Smaller international airports in Romania

Wizz Air International Airports in Romania
Wizz Air is one of the most popular low cost carriers in the country.

The airports below are smaller and usually offer very few options when it comes to destinations from around the world.

It’s still worth checking them out as they might have a flight that would be helpful for your travel plans. Especially since some are growing really fast, so new flights are added regularly.

I’m listing them based on the number of passengers they have each year:

Sibiu International Airport (SBZ) Official website here

Craiova International Airport (CRA)Official website here

Bacau: George Enescu International Airport (BCM)Official website here

Suceava: Ștefan cel Mare Airport (SCV)Official website here

Oradea International Airport (OMR)Official website here

Constanta: Mihail Kogălniceanu International Airport (CND) Official website here

Satu Mare International Airport (SUJ)Official website here

Targu Mures: Transilvania International Airport (TGM)Official website here

Baia Mare: Maramures International Airport (BAY)Official website here (It has only recently started offering flights, generally to/from Bucharest only, as well as some seasonal charter flights. But hopefully new destinations will be added in the following years).

Bucharest: Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (BBU): This one is currently operating private flights only. I’ve seen rumors that it will start offering regular flights to starting March 2023, but we’ll see if that is true.

Danube Delta Airport (Tulcea)Official website here – This one doesn’t seem to be active though and might only work for private flights. Could not find any flight schedules for it anywhere.

Arad International AirportOfficial website here – I wasn’t able to find any flights for this one either, but the good news is that Timisoara is very close with a ton of connections. Apparently this airport is now used for irregular cargo flights.

Romania has even more airports, but since traffic to the country – and especially to the smaller cities – is minimal, they have been shut down.

For example, the Tulcea Airport is no longer working for a while now, but discussions began regarding its modernization and reopening.

Brasov airport opening in 2023

Also, an airport in one of the most popular cities in the country – Brasov – is in the works since 2014 and each year it seems that it’s almost ready before something unexpected pops up to prevent its grand opening.

This time, things seem to be working fine and we’ve had various confirmations that it will start operating in June 2023. It’s not clear right now what routes will be available, so until things are clear, I am not listing it as a major airport (although I believe it could become one).

You can check out its official website here.

Other smaller cities have airports (this is the case of the city I am currently living in – Drobeta Turnu Severin) but there are no plans for them to start operating any time soon.

Still, there is a fair number of working airports right now, offering you options to reach the various regions in Romania with relative ease.

Even if you don’t manage to find a direct flight to an airport, getting to Bucharest and flying there is most likely an option.

Wrapping Up

If you’re planning to visit Romania, you should check the map that I shared at the beginning of the article and see what airport is closer to your destination and then decide what your best options are.

And since flying from city to city in Romania is not that common, you will have more options if you check out train schedules – with some solid Private companies giving the state-funded CFR a real run for their money, as well as car sharing options or very cheap buses from a city to another.

Calin
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13 thoughts on “List of the International Airports in Romania (with Map)”

  1. I see Ryanair flies from London to Oradea. Very good info. I’m finally retired and am either going to spend most of the year in Georgia, or 90 days at a time between several countries, Romania included. Done quite a bit of research, one of numerous things about Romania I like is they are far and away the best country to go to the movies. I’m currently in Mexico, will be looking at flying over next March. Great website as always!

    Reply
    • Happy to hear that, Wade! Yay for the adventure to come! 🙂 Regarding Georgia, it’s very likely that you know about the blog already, but I am mentioning it just to be sure: ReinisFischer.com – he’s been living in Georgia for quite a while and has a lot of useful info about the country.

      Reply
  2. Wizz Air seems to have pretty good coverage of Romania. However, they fly from really obscure airports in Germany which take forever to get to by bus. Although Wizz Air has very low airfares, they charge extra for checked baggage. I envisioned myself wearing all my clothes at the same time instead of putting them into a suitcase. I would look like the Michelin Man! That’s probably not a good idea in summer when it is very hot in Romania but maybe in winter I would try it. That’s a shame that the Romanian train system is so slow. I was amazed at how extensive the railroad network is. I keep hearing that the EU wants to give Romania lots of free money for infrastructure improvements but the Romanians can’t get their act together to submit proposals in time. Lots of EU money has been “left on the table.”

    Reply
    • Indeed, it’s really sad that so much money has been left on the table. Not only railways-wise, but speedways as well… we are really lacking in that department and there’s a scandal related to them every month 🙂

      Another solid low cost company in Romania is Blue Air which is very similar to Wizz. Ryanair also has some amazing discounts and offers but yes, in most cases, you have to try and wear all your clothes unless you want to pay extra for the luggage 🙂

      Reply
  3. Any updates on the construction of the airport in Brasov? I understand that the locals there are optimistic regarding its potential as a source of job creation. Also, how complete is the A3? As a gear head and Californian, I’m always interested in the ability to take a good road trip.

    Reply
    • Jim, probably if all goes well my nephews will get the chance to drive on the A3 from one end to another :)) Progress has been really slow – as it usually is when speedways are involved in this country – and I doubt it will be ready anytime soon. Unfortunately, I know nothing about the airport in Brasov, but I’ll look into it.

      Reply
  4. Stuart’s comment made me laugh as l have indeed seen a lot of people wearing tons of stuff on the flights then heading to the bathroom to take them off. There have even been accounts of people fainting due to the heat from all the clothing :-). I was asking you about Craiova remember as that is where the direct flight from Valencia goes, but it seems Wizz Air might have one going straight to Bucharest so l am watching the prices and will book when it gets reasonable :-). With any luck, we’ll see you this year! 🙂

    Reply
    • Many of my friends do this as well. When they’re leaving for just a weekend break, it makes little sense for them to pay extra, so they put on as many clothes as they can. Everybody does what they think is best :))

      Regarding flights to Bucharest, you can also keep an eye on Blue Air, they also have direct flights from Valencia to our capital: http://www.blueairweb.com/destinatii/11_valencia It would be great to finally meet this year!

      Reply
  5. Hi is there an airport in Târgu Mureş ? Saw something that Wizz would fly there… would be great!
    Thanks if you have any info on that.

    Reply
  6. An airport in Brasov would be great. Everytime I vacationed in Transylvania, I had to take the several hours drive to get to my place in Miclosoara (Miklosvar). I would love to have something much closer. It would make it so much easier to see all the surrounding areas.

    Reply
    • It seems that 2021 will finally be the year when the airport becomes operational. Although it was similarly close on a few other occasions, so I won’t believe it until I see it 🙂 But indeed, it would be really useful to have the airport there.

      Reply

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