January 31 (SeeNews) - Romanian airports served more than 21 million passengers in 2022, marking an annual increase of 87% and a rise of nearly 192% when compared to the year 2020, the Romanian Airports Association (RAA) said.
More than 220,000 takeoffs and landings were registered last year at Romanian airports, up by almost 32% on the year, RAA said in a statement on Friday.
The highest number of passengers was recorded at Otopeni airport in Bucharest, followed by the airports in Cluj-Napoca and Iasi.
Last year, more than 53,000 tonnes of cargo were transported through Romanian airports, up 5.8% on the volume recorded in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
"It was a strong return, especially in the summer months, when some airports in Romania recorded higher traffic values than in 2019. There is great potential and we estimate that in 2023 we will exceed 24 million passengers, and if we talk about long-term estimates, we expect that in 2040, Romanian airports will register almost 50 million passengers," said David Ciceo, president of RAA.
RAA is an employers' association founded in 1999. It encompasses 16 civil airports as members.