Otopeni airport to cut tariffs starting January 1, 2010

The airport tariffs paid by the airlines operating on Henri Coanda Bucharest Otopeni International Airport, AIHCB, will drop starting January 1, 2010, as a result of applying a new calculation formula, according to the European regulation.

The tariffs for terminal airline navigation will be established according to a new formula to reflect clearly the total costs for providing airline navigation services to the companies using the airline space, complying with the stipulations of the European Commission regulation, regarding the common plan of tariffs for airline navigation services.

Considering the above, the low-cost airlines might transfer flights from Baneasa airport to Henri Coanda airport.

Specialists within the Ministry of Transport stated that in the following years, Baneasa airport will be destined only for private flights and SMURD, the emergency chopper service.

The European Union regulation is mandatory only for airports reporting more than 50,000 commercial movements annually, calculated as an average for the last 3 years. The countries may decide whether to apply it on other airports with an annual lower traffic or not.

Sursa: Daily Business [14.10.2009], Gardianul [15.10.2009]