Bucharest Flights

Most likely, this is where you'll first set foot on Romanian ground.
Otopeni Henri Coanda Airport hosts both international and internal flights, while low-cost flights land and depart from Baneasa Airport.
Hop in a Fly Tax or in the 783 bus (see next tip) and you're on your way to meet Bucharest.

FAQ:
1. Can I exchange money at the airport?
Yes, you can but the fairs are lower than in the city so I would advise you to exchange only about 25 euros, to pay for the taxi.

2. How to arrive downtown (Piata Victoriei - Victory Square, Piata Romana - Roman Square, Piata Universitatii - University Square)?
The easiest and most simple way is to take the 783 bus from the ground floor of the airport.

OTOPENI (HENRI COANDA) AIRPORT
The main gate for international travels is in Otopeni .. a small town near Bucharest (arround 10km) .. where the Henri Coanda Bucharest International Airport is.

When arriving by plane at Henri Coanda Airport, you have the following choices to reach dowtown Bucharest:

BUS
Express 783 line connects the airport to downtown Bucharest in aprox. 40 minutes
Schedule:
Monday - Friday 5:30 - 20:00 (at every 15 min) 20:00 - 23:00 (at every 30 min)
Saturday, Sunday, Legal Holidays 5:30 - 23:30 (at every 30 min)

TAXI
Available right in front of the ARRIVALS.

Fare is 3,5 RON/km with initial fare of 3,5RON - thus ride to the center of Bucharest should cost between RON 35 and 50 (EUR 9-12). If your destination is more to the south it might go over 50 lei (15 euros). Check the exchange rate, currently (Jan.2010) 1EUR=4RON.

Bucharest has two airports. The oldest and closest to the city, Baneasa Airport (tel.: 9371), serves low cost companies (serving flights to Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, the UK, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria - of which BlueAir is the biggest one, BBU based), charters going to Turkey and Greece, as well as CarpatAir (domestic flights with a connection to many European cities through TSR). Built in 1971, Otopeni Airport (tel.: (021)2041000), located 10 km. further on the road to Ploiesti, still serves most of the flights. Tarom is the Romanian national airline carrier. Both Baneasa and Otopeni airports are served by bus #783 (that runs every 15 minutes on weekdays and every 30 minutes on weekends, it works with 2 rides cards bought from the aluminium RATB kiosks; it goes on the following route: Otopeni – Baneasa – the Arch of Triumph – Victory Square - Romana Square – University Square – Unirea Square), while Baneasa is also served by regular city buses (that work on regular tickets bought from the same kiosks), # 131 and 301 from Romana Square. The bus station in Otopeni Airport lies as you exit the domestic arrivals terminal to the right (from the international arrivals terminal, take the elevator or the mechanical stairs down to the ground level). In front of the international arrivals terminal there are only taxis belonging to TaxiFly which are allowed to wait there. They charge almost 3 times more than a regular taxi (ROL 20.000 / km. compared to ROL 7.000-8.000 / km.), buy regular taxis are only allowed to wait down on the ground level of teh parking lot. Look for reputable companies such as CrisTaxi, Cobalcescu, Meridian, Getax, Leone, Rodell, Dixie, Apolodor, they usually lie down the parking lot from the arrivals terminal in Otopeni and across the street from Baneasa Airport. A ride from Otopeni to the centre should never go over the equivalent of EUR 8-9.

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This old Bucharest airport is located closer to the city than Otopeni airport. It’s rather small and hasn’t got finger docks. You will be transported by bus to and from your plane. There are several low budget airlines flying here like Wizzair, Germanwings etc. The check in for Wizzair is where the Germanwings signs are.

In the whole airport I couldn’t buy a cup of tea, only coffee. There are 3 places but none had it ie the one bar in the middle of the room did have tea bags but no hot water apparently. I think he was just too lazy as he was chatting with a girl friend. You will have to give all your drinking bottle away before the x-ray but the good news is that you can buy new soft drinks in the duty free shop. And the soft drinks are one of the only things that you can pay in RON, all the alcohol and cigarettes etc. can only be paid in Euro. Although it’s cheaper to pay in Euro for the soft drinks than paying in RON.

When we left, the gents toilets were blocked, so all the men used the ladies which can be a bit tricky as you cannot lock some of the doors. There are more toilets once you are through the x-ray.

PS: You are not allowed to photograph the airport, but we only saw the sign near the big road when leaving the airport area.

Bucharest has become a new destination for the low cost airlines. There are now 4 low cost carriers serving Bucharest (Aurel Vlaicu Airport, former Baneasa - 10km from downtown): Blue Air, Sky Europe, My Air and Alpi Eagles. The flights are to and from: Slovakia (Bratislava), Italy (Milan-Bergamo, Verona-Brescia, Turin-Cuneo, Venice, Rome), France (Lyon), Spain (Barcelona, Madrid), Turkey (Istanbul), Netherlands (Maastricht-Aachen). You can buy a ticket with as low as 20 euros.

The international airport is Bucharest is not very large and is easy to navigate. We had someone pick us up at the airport so we were spared the agony of trying to locate a bus or taxi. I understand that Flytaxi has a monopoly on taxi fares from the airport and that they charge at least double the normal rate.

This airport has been nicely modernised. There is a small shopping mall air-side in international departures.

When checking in, you have to pass through X-ray before checking in and then again after passport control, so better to give yourself a little extra time.

We flew from JFK in New York to Bucharest on Tarom Airlines. The flight, food and service were u nremarkable. But arriving and departing we had to stopover in Timisiara and could not leave the plane. Flying over the layover was about 1 hour, but flying back we were on the ground for almost 3 hours. If we return to Bucharest I would probably avoid this route