Departure
93%
vs 95% ▼ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport lies in the Băneasa district just north of the Romanian capital, and is one of the oldest continuously operating airfields in Europe. Once Bucharest's principal commercial gateway, it now serves as a business and low-cost airport with a single long paved runway equipped with ILS on both approaches, making it a straightforward and historically rich destination for the VFR or IFR visitor.
Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport, commonly known simply as Băneasa Airport or Bucharest City Airport, is a public airfield operated by Compania Națională Aeroporturi București. It is named after Aurel Vlaicu, the Romanian engineer, inventor and early aviator, and traces its flying activity back to 1912, making it the oldest continuously operating airport in Eastern Europe and one of the five oldest in the world. Having served as Bucharest's sole commercial airport until 1969 and later as the country's low-cost hub until 2012, it was converted into a business airport before reopening to scheduled commercial services in 2023 and resuming regular low-cost flights from 2025. Its long aviation pedigree, mix of business and airline traffic, and proximity to central Bucharest make it an interesting and useful field for the simulator pilot.
The airport sits in the Băneasa district of Bucharest, Romania, about 8.5 km (5.3 miles) north of the city centre. It lies in reasonably close proximity to Henri Coandă International Airport (the former Otopeni Airport), Bucharest's main international gateway, which took over civilian traffic duties from Băneasa in 1969.
The field has a single physical runway, 07/25, of hard (asphalt) construction, lit, and equipped with ILS on both approach directions. The database records a runway length of 10,133 ft when approached from runway 25 and 9,683 ft when approached from runway 07. Field elevation is 289 ft above mean sea level.
Aeronautical frequency data lists Approach (APP) on 118.25 MHz, Precision Ground Control Approach (GCA) on 125.2 MHz, Ground (GND) on 129.95 MHz, and Tower (TWR) on 120.8 MHz. Both runway directions are served by ILS, supporting instrument approaches to the field.
Flying activity at Băneasa dates back to 1909, when the French aviation pioneer Louis Blériot flew at the nearby Băneasa Hippodrome. In 1912, Prince George Valentin Bibescu established one of Romania's first flight schools at the Băneasa airfield, an event that underpins the airport's status as the oldest continuously operating airport in Eastern Europe. In 1922 the site became the headquarters of CFRNA, the French-Romanian Company for Air Navigation and the forerunner of the national airline TAROM, and in 1923 CFRNA built aircraft maintenance facilities there that later gave rise to the aerospace company Romaero. During the Second World War the airfield was used by both Romanian and German units as an aircraft repair hub and served as the headquarters of the Romanian White Squadron; at that time the field was mostly grass, with a single 940-metre concrete runway built in 1942. The present terminal building, designed in the late 1940s and opened in 1952, was built with a central dome and three wings representing an aircraft propeller, and was considered one of the finest architectural features of Bucharest at the time. Under communist rule Băneasa served as TAROM's domestic hub, with Otopeni handling international traffic, and TAROM eventually moved all operations to Otopeni in the early 2000s. Low-cost carriers arrived from 2004 with Blue Air, followed from January 2007 by Wizz Air, EasyJet and Germanwings; the airport closed for renovation between May and August 2007 at an estimated cost of 20 million euros, covering commercial areas and a full overhaul of the runway and lighting systems. In March 2012 Băneasa was dedicated to business aviation and the last scheduled passenger traffic transferred to Henri Coandă. After a decade of renovation the airport reopened on 1 August 2022, exactly 110 years after its founding, and the first scheduled commercial flight since the closure departed to Antalya on 20 April 2023.
Following its 2022 reopening, Băneasa has resumed scheduled commercial operations, with regular low-cost services returning from 2025 and a new terminal planned for construction by 2035. Carriers currently operating from the field include Wizz Air, Ryanair and Fly Lili, alongside continuing business aviation traffic. The historic 1950s terminal, a protected architectural monument, remains in use but was designed for a much lower passenger volume than modern low-cost operations demand.
