Six airlines have already expressed their interest in launching flights from the upcoming Brassó/Brașov–Vidombák/Ghimbav international airport. Construction work is progressing well, with the first international flight set to take off by the end of 2021, István Barna Jakab, one of the two engineers responsible for the implementation of the airport tells TransylvaniaNOW.
Even though the construction of the airport is ongoing,
Wizz Air, Blue Air, the Lufthansa Group, Turkish Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, and Israeli airline El AL have all expressed interest in launching flights to and from the Brassó–Vidombák airport,
Jakab said.
Talks are at an early stage, with construction progress being followed closely by the aforementioned airlines. The building phase had been long-overdue but finally commenced in early March, and Jakab is positive that they will reach 80-percent completion by the end of 2020.
Spread over 12,000 square meters, the terminal will be capable of handling up to 1 million passengers per year while respecting the strict rules that came into effect because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When finished, the Brassó–Vidombák airport will feature a remote virtual tower, unique in Romania, Jakab tells TransylvaniaNOW. “We have already initiated talks with our fellow colleagues at the Kolozsvár/Cluj Napoca and Nagyszeben/Sibiu airports regarding collaboration, as digital tower gives air navigation service providers serious productivity enhancements, such as reducing human resource, operating, and staff costs over the long term,” Jakab said.
The implementation of the virtual and remote tower follows existing examples in Vienna, Norway and Germany (Leipzig) where this technology is used. The Brassó implementation of the remote tower will become the first step in a national strategy of switching to cost-effective virtual services that allow control over the movements of more than one airport at a time. “We have initiated talks with the romanian air traffic services administration (ROMATSA) encouraging it to play a major role in putting the national strategy into practice,” Jakab added.
The first flight is expected to take off sometime next autumn, and Jakab is confident that the first international flight will land by the end of 2021
Related: Transylvania Airport resumes London and Budapest flights.
Title image: Construction site of the Brassó–Vidombák airport terminal. Image source: Kovászna/Covasna County Council.
