Chișinău International Airport

It served as headquarters for Air Moldova, the country's national airline.

Chișinău International Airport Aeroportul Internațional Chișinău
The airport's main terminal in 2019
IATA: RMO ICAO: LUKK
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Chișinău International Airport Company
Serves	Chișinău
Location	Chișinău, Moldova
Opened	1960; 64 years ago (1960)
Hub for	FlyOne HiSky
Elevation AMSL	399 ft / 122 m
Coordinates	46°55′40″N 028°55′51″E / 46.92778°N 28.93083°E / 46.92778; 28.93083
Website	airport.md/en
Map
RMO Location in Moldova
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 08/26 3,590 11,778 Concrete 09/27 2,383 7,818 Concrete
Statistics (2023)
Passengers 2,838,073 Aircraft movements 24,947
Sources: Moldovan AIP at Eurocontrol, statistics

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).

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.

In 2002, following works by the Turkish company Akfen Holding, the airport was modernised. An annex terminal building with an area of 4,270 m² (46,000 sq ft) was added to the renovated old terminal building of 7,600 m² (82,000 sq ft). The project covered the construction of 3,000 m² (32,000 sq ft) curtain walls, 3,200 m² (34,000 sq ft) composite panels, 12,185 m² (131,160 sq ft) asphalt road, a treatment plant with a capacity of 3,450 m³ (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 had 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.

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.

The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at Chișinău International Airport:

 

 

 

 

In 2022, Chișinău Airport handled around 2.31 million passengers, an increase of over 25% compared to 2021 (1.84 million pax).

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

• 2023 recent data.

Routes

Busiest international routes at Chișinău Airport by weekly flights

Rank	City	Airport(s)	Weekly Departures (1 September 2023)	Airlines
1.	Istanbul	Istanbul Airport	34	Turkish Airlines FlyOne
2.	Bucharest	Henri Coandă International Airport	19	TAROM
3.	Warsaw	Warsaw Chopin Airport	14	LOT Polish Airlines
4.	Yerevan	Zvartnots International Airport	14	FlyOne FlyOne Armenia
5.	Dublin	Dublin Airport	9	FlyOne HiSky
6.	Tel Aviv	Ben Gurion Airport	9	FlyOne HiSky
7.	London	London Stansted Airport	7	FlyOne HiSky
8.	Vienna	Vienna Airport	7	Austrian Airlines
9.	Antalya	Antalya Airport	7	Pegasus Airlines FlyOne Turkish Airlines Southwind Airlines
10.	London	London Luton Airport	7	FlyOne

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

 

There are bus and trolleybus lines frequently departing from the airport.

• 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 hospital three days later.

• Civil Aviation Administration of Moldova
• List of airports in Moldova
• List of the busiest airports in the former USSR