| Nativename: | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Aeroportul Internațional Chișinău |
| Chișinău International Airport | |
| Iata: | RMO |
| Icao: | LUKK |
| Image2-Width: | 250 |
| Location: | Chișinău, Moldova |
| Hub: | |
| Elevation-M: | 122 |
| Coordinates: | 46.9278°N 28.9308°W |
| Pushpin Label: | RMO |
| Metric-Rwy: | yes |
| Type: | Public |
| Operator: | Chișinău International Airport Company |
| City-Served: | Chișinău |
| Elevation-F: | 399 |
| Pushpin Map: | Moldova |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Moldova |
| R1-Number: | 08/26 |
| R1-Length-M: | 3590 |
| R1-Surface: | Concrete |
| R2-Number: | 09/27 |
| R2-Length-M: | 2383 |
| R2-Surface: | Concrete |
| Stat-Year: | 2023 |
| Stat1-Header: | Passengers |
| Stat1-Data: | 2,838,073 |
| Stat2-Header: | Aircraft movements |
| Stat2-Data: | 24,947 |
| Footnotes: | Sources: Moldovan AIP at Eurocontrol,[1] statistics[2] |
Chișinău International Airport (Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Aeroportul Internațional Chișinău;) is Moldova's main international airport, located 13km (08miles) southeast of the centre of Chișinău, the capital city.[1] It served as headquarters for Air Moldova,[3] [4] the country's national airline.
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).[5]
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.[6] 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.
On 31 May 1995, Chișinău Airport was awarded the status of an international airport.
A major modernization and renovation of the airport was completed in 2002 by the Turkish company Akfen Holding. An annex terminal building with an area of 4270m2 was added to the renovated old terminal building of 7600m2. The project covered the construction of 3000m2 curtain walls, 3200m2 composite panels, 12185m2 asphalt road, a treatment plant with a capacity of 3450m2 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 increased to 5.4 million passengers.[7]
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.[8] 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.[9]
On 14 March 2023, WizzAir suspended flights to/from Moldova due to concerns over airspace safety.[10] 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.[11]
There were ten check-in desks and five gates at the airport in 2009.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]
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 passengers).[16]
| Year | Passengers (total)[17] [18] | Change | Aircraft movements (total)[19] | 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 |
| Rank | City | Airport(s) | Weekly Departures (16 June 2024)[21] | Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Istanbul | Istanbul Airport | 35 | Turkish Airlines FlyOne |
| 2. |  Bucharest | Henri Coandă International Airport | 26 | TAROM HiSky |
| 3. | Antalya | Antalya Airport | 22 | Pegasus Airlines FlyOne Turkish Airlines Southwind Airlines |
| 4. | 17 | FlyOne HiSky | ||
| 5. | London | 14 | FlyOne | |
| 6. | 14 | FlyOne FlyOne Armenia | ||
| 7. |  Warsaw | Warsaw Chopin Airport | 13 | LOT Polish Airlines |
| 8. | 13 | Austrian Airlines | ||
| 9. | 11 | FlyOne HiSky | ||
| 10. |  Heraklion | 9 | FlyOne | |
There are bus and trolleybus lines frequently departing from the airport.