Cluj-Napoca International Airport

History

Cluj-Napoca Airport was founded on 1 April 1932 by the Romanian Ministry of Industry and Trade. Until the civil airport was built, the first operations used the Someseni Military Aerodrome that was founded by the Romanian National Service of Air Navigation (Romanian: Serviciul National de Navigatie Aeriana SNNA) in 1928. The SNNA was set up by the Romanian Ministry of War for opening an air transportation line between Cluj and Bucharest. The first aircraft used was the Farman-Goliath aircraft, a twin-engine plane with space for ten passengers built by the Farman Aviation Works.

In 1933, Cluj Airport was declared an International Airport by the Romanian Government. The first international flight, a CSA Czech Airlines Prague-Cluj-Bucharest flight, took place on 11 September 1933. The aircraft used on this route were eight-seat Avia-Fokker aircraft. In the following years several new routes were opened, such as the Aeroflot Moscow-Cluj-Prague flight, opened on 15 November 1935, which was operated with 14-seat McDonnell Douglas DC-2 twin-engine aircraft, registered as USSR-M25 and USSR-M26. Internal flights were also operated in this period, such as Cluj-Satu-Mare and Chernivtsi-Cluj-Arad using Lockheed L-10 Electra ten-passenger aircraft and de Havilland Dragon Rapide aircraft. In the late 1930s the airport recorded a steady growth and the employees number rose from 6 in 1934 to 16 in 1939. The passenger terminal was also built in this period, being inaugurated in 1939.

During World War II, the airport became a military airport, being considered the most important in Transylvania. In 1940, as a result of the Second Vienna Award, Northern Transylvania (including Cluj) was ceded to Hungary and thus the airport was used by the Hungarian Air Force and German Luftwaffe. In October 1944, the Hungarian forces in the city were defeated by the Romanian and Soviet armies. By the time of the re-conquest of the airport by the Romanian No. 4 Fighting Squadron Focsani, in late September 1944, the airport was completely destroyed.

After the war, the airport's operations were resumed with Tarom internal flights connecting Cluj to other major Romanian cities. The aircraft used were the Lisunov Li-2 / Douglas DC-3 and Ilyushin Il-14 aircraft.

In the 1960s an extensive modernisation of the airport begun. In 1969 the new passenger terminal was opened and by 1970 the airport was fully equipped with all the safety facilities.

The airport remained a domestic airport until September 1996, when it was once again opened to both international passenger and cargo traffic. The extension of the terminal building was also started in 1996 and since August 1997 it is run by the Cluj County Council. By 2001 the extension of the airport building was finished, the runway lighting system was modernised and the 1st category Instrument Landing System was implemented.

In 2006 the airport director, David Ciceo, stated in Evenimentul Zilei that the runway length had been extended from 1,850 m to 2,100 m. However, as of February 2007 the Romanian Aeronautical Information Publication, as used by the International Civil Aviation Organization and pilots worldwide, was still listing the runway length as 1,850 m.

CONTACT

Cluj-Napoca International Airport

3400 Cluj Napoca
str. Traian Vuia nr. 149

aercj [at] codec ro

URL: http://www.airportcluj.ro/

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