Werner Wolff, the general manager of Romanian state-owned airline Tarom, talked recently about the infrastructure problems at the Henri Coanda International Airport, also known as the Otopeni Airport, which serves the Romanian capital.

For example, he said the holes in the taxiway cut the aircraft’s wheels, forcing the airline to change the planes’ wheels three to five times week, instead of changing them every few months, local News.ro reported.

“A massive investment is needed in the taxiways at Otopeni, and I believe we also need to change the way passengers arrive at the airport. Honestly, I don’t like that domestic passengers are left somewhere in the field and then taken by buses, it is a matter of civilization and a possibility to welcome them. Things will change for sure because there is a project at ministry level, at airport level, as far as I know,” Wolff said.

He also added that the holes in the taxiway represent a problem for the airline, because they cut the aircraft’s wheels, and this leads to high costs for the company.

“It doesn’t create uncertainty for passengers, but it’s important to rise to European levels; if we want to be in Europe then let’s be Europeans […] I can’t say that the Otopeni airport has the worst runway, but it is a runway that needs to be repaired,” Werner Wolff also said.

He made the statements in Timisoara, where he attended the inauguration of the Iasi-Timisoara flight route.

A report of the prime minister’s Control Body, completed in October last year, also showed that there are problems at the Otopeni airport’s runways. For example, the report revealed that the runway 1 does not provide efficient landing/takeoff conditions, and runway 2 is operational on a length of only 2,237 m, out of a total of 3,500 m.

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com