Baneasa airport in Romania to build new terminal, reopen in August

Baneasa international airport, in the northern part of the Romanian capital, Bucharest, will build a new terminal for arrivals to cope with surging demand for low-cost carriers, officials said Wednesday.

The airport, which is used by discount airlines, has been closed since May for runway repairs and other upgrades and is scheduled to reopen on Aug. 2. Meanwhile, all flights have been diverted to the main airport in Otopeni, causing delays in security screening areas.

Construction of the new terminal would start at the end of July and be completed in December, airport director Stefan Mladin told state news agency Rompres.

Despite being closed for four months, the Baneasa airport expects traffic to rise by 30 percent this year from 2006 to a total of about 1 million passengers.

Low-cost carriers were planning to add more flights to cover domestic destinations, Mladin said, adding that work on the new terminal would not affect the airport's activity.

iht.com