Baneasa/Otopeni passenger ratio changes from 1:8 to 1:2 in four years

The expansion of low-cost companies which last year reached over 200 million euros in turnover in Romania, according to ZF estimates, generated a rise in the number of passengers using the Baneasa Airport in Bucharest to over 750,000 passengers in the first five months of the year, up 22% against the same time in 2008. This places traffic on Baneasa Airport at half of that recorded on Otopeni Airport, Romania’s largest airport. Whilst in 2005 eight times more passengers used the Henri Coanda (Otopeni) airport than Baneasa Airport, traffic recorded on Otopeni airport in the first five months of this year was only twice as high as that recorded on the airport used by low-cost airlines. Moreover, whereas the number of passengers choosing the Baneasa Airport rose by over 20%, Otopeni traffic was down by 15% in the first five months of the year, according to data provided to ZF by the two airports.