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[2] 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.

Craiova International Airport

Aeroportul Internaţional Craiova
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorConsiliul Judeţean Dolj
ServesCraiova, Romania
Opened1938 (1938)
Focus city forWizz Air
Elevation AMSL626 ft / 191 m
Coordinates44°19′05″N 023°53′19″E
Websitewww.aeroportcraiova.ro
Map
CRA
Location of airport in Romania
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
09/27 2,500 8,203 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Passengers[1]598,005
Aircraft movements[1]5,260 39.9%
Source: Romanian AIP at EUROCONTROL,[2]
Statistics[3][4]

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.[5]

From 1995, the airport was opened to domestic and international traffic, serving only charter flights.[5] A new terminal was opened at Craiova airport in December 2010.[6] 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[7] 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:[8]

AirlinesDestinations
Animawings Seasonal charter: Antalya[9]
Wizz Air[10] Bergamo, Birmingham, Bologna, Charleroi, London–Luton, Rome–Ciampino

Statistics
Annual passenger traffic at CRA airport. See Wikidata query.
Year Passengers Change Aircraft movements Change
2007 5,133
2008 12,988 153%
2009 15,130 16.4%
2010 23,629 56.1%
2011 32,006 35.4%
2012 29,626 7.4% 3,394
2013 40,291 35.9% 2,246 33.9%
2014 138,886 244.7% 3,506 56.1%
2015 116,947 15.8% 2,999 14.5%
2016 222,320 90.1% 4,018 33.9%
2017 447,227 101.1% 5,960 48.3%
2018 493,056 10.2% 6,793 14%
2019 514,544 4.3% 6,779 0.2%
2020[1] 159,552 68.9% 3,758 44.5%
2021[1] 191,510 20.0% 5,260 39.6%
Busiest Routes from Craiova International Airport (2019)
RankAirportPassengers
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
Main article: Craiova Air Base

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.[11]

See also

References
  1. "Situaţii statistice de aeroport pentru perioada 2017 – 2021" (PDF) (in Romanian).
  2. EAD Basic
  3. Craiova Airport in 2013 Archived 8 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine at newsair.ro (in Romanian)
  4. ORDIN 169/1.801. Planul national de actiune privind reducerea emisiilor de gaze cu efect de seră în domeniul aviatiei civile Archived 17 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine (in Romanian)
  5. "Istoric". aeroportcraiova.ro (in Romanian).
  6. "Craiova: Noul terminal de plecări al aeroportului va fi inaugurat peste două săptămâni" [The New Terminal of the Airport Will be Inaugurated in Two Weeks]. Adevarul. 25 November 2010.
  7. "Ryanair to stop flights from Oradea and Craiova, after closing Timisoara base". 16 March 2018.
  8. "Craiova Airport flight schedule".. Retrieved on 6 August 2022.
  9. "Star Tours".
  10. "Wizz Air".
  11. "RAT-Craiova bus schedule". Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
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