Chisinau Airport Guide: Moldova’s Gateway Takes Off
Chisinau Airport, now coded RMO, is Moldova's main gateway. Runways, terminal, Wizz Air and FlyOne routes, transport links and spotting tips.
By The Aviation Hub
6 min read
Updated October 20, 2026 
Chisinau Airport, officially Chisinau Eugen Doga International Airport, is the main air gateway to Moldova and the country’s dominant airport by a wide margin. It lies about 8 miles (13 km) southeast of the city centre. Traffic has nearly tripled since 2022, reaching around 6.1 million passengers in 2025 as low cost carriers returned and expanded. The airport also has a new IATA code, RMO, which replaced the long familiar KIV.
Chisinau Airport at a Glance
The IATA code changed from KIV to RMO on 18 January 2024. KIV came from Kishinev, the Russian form of the city’s name, while RMO stands for Republica Moldova. Many travellers and older timetables still use KIV. The ICAO code remains LUKK. The field sits 122 m (399 ft) above sea level and has two concrete runways, one main passenger terminal and a separate VIP building.
Chisinau Airport handled 6,080,431 passengers in 2025, up from 4.14 million in 2024 and 2.84 million in 2023. FlyOne and HiSky, both Moldovan airlines, are based here, and Wizz Air operates a base. Ukraine’s SkyUp Airlines has also flown from Chisinau while its home airspace stays closed. Flight information is published on the airport’s official website.
How Moldova’s Airport Came to Be
Scheduled flying reached the city on 24 June 1926. The Franco Romanian company CFRNA opened routes linking Chisinau with Bucharest, Galati and Iasi. The region was then part of Romania, and the airline later became LARES and eventually TAROM.
The current airport dates from 1960, in the Soviet era, when Aeroflot linked the city with Moscow and other points across the USSR. The main terminal was built in the 1970s for about 1.2 million passengers a year. After independence in 1991, Air Moldova became the national carrier and dominated the schedule for decades. The airport gained international status on 31 May 1995.
In 2002 the Turkish group Akfen Holding modernised the site. It renovated the 7,600 square metre old terminal and added a 4,270 square metre annex, lifting capacity to around 5.4 million passengers a year. A second concrete runway, 09/27, began operations on 13 September 2018. The airport has since been renamed for Eugen Doga, the celebrated Moldovan composer.
Runways at Chisinau Airport
Runway 08/26 is the main strip at Chisinau Airport. It is 3,590 m (11,778 ft) long and 45 m wide with a concrete surface, long enough for any wide body type. Runway 09/27 is also concrete, 2,383 m (7,818 ft) by 45 m, and entered service in 2018. The two run almost parallel, set about ten degrees apart.
Arrivals on runway 26 come in from the east over open farmland, while landings on 08 pass the southeastern edge of the city. Loans from the European Investment Bank and the EBRD, first agreed in 2008, have backed work on the runway, taxiways and aprons. Geography shapes operations. Moldovan airspace closed on 24 February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine, and partial reopening came on 22 March. Eastbound flights now route around Ukrainian airspace.
Terminals and Airlines
All scheduled flights at Chisinau Airport use the main terminal, a 1970s building enlarged by the 2002 annex. It is compact, with a limited number of gates, and queues build quickly at summer peaks. A separate VIP terminal handles government and premium passengers.
Wizz Air now drives much of the growth, flying Airbus A320 and A321neo jets to Western Europe. The airline suspended Moldovan flights on 14 March 2023 over airspace safety concerns. It announced its return in October 2024 and resumed flying on 16 December 2024. That comeback explains much of the recent surge. FlyOne and HiSky, both operating Airbus A320 family jets, are the home carriers.
Network airlines provide the connections. Turkish Airlines links the city with Istanbul, TAROM with Bucharest, LOT with Warsaw and Austrian Airlines with Vienna. Air Moldova, the former flag carrier, suspended all flights in May 2023 and has not returned.
Routes and Destinations
Istanbul is the busiest international route, with about 35 weekly departures in mid 2024. Bucharest follows at around 26, then Antalya at 22 and Tel Aviv at 17. London Luton and Yerevan each had about 14 weekly flights, with Warsaw, Vienna and Dublin close behind. Heraklion and other Greek and Turkish resorts fill out the summer timetable.
The network reflects the Moldovan diaspora. Large communities in Italy, the UK, Ireland and Germany sustain many low cost routes, and Chisinau Airport sees sharp peaks at holiday periods when workers fly home. Moscow was once the top destination by far, with more than 320,000 passengers in 2012, but those links have dropped away. Cargo is small and mostly carried in the holds of passenger aircraft.
Getting to and from Chisinau Airport
The city centre is about 15 to 20 minutes away by road. Minibus route 165 runs into the centre via the Botanica district, and trolleybus and bus services also stop near the terminal. These are the cheapest sensible option, with fares of a few lei. Taxis wait outside arrivals and the trip to the centre costs roughly 100 to 150 lei (about £5 to £7).
App based taxis are widely used and usually cheaper than cars at the kerb. Agree the fare before setting off with a street taxi. There is no rail link to Chisinau Airport. Paid parking sits directly in front of the terminal, and car hire desks operate in arrivals. Allow extra time in summer, when check in and security queues lengthen.
Spotting and Photography
Spotting at Chisinau Airport is low key but rewarding for anyone chasing rarer registrations. Moldovan operators, displaced Ukrainian carriers and charter airlines bring variety to a small apron. Open countryside surrounds much of the perimeter, and public roads near both ends of the main runway give views of arrivals.
The flat terrain and lack of clutter make it easy to frame aircraft, and summer evenings bring long, soft light. The terminal landside area offers glimpses of the apron. Moldova is not used to organised spotting, so carry identification, stay on public land and avoid photographing security installations. Be ready to explain yourself politely to police and comply at once if asked to move on.
What Comes Next
Capacity is now the pressing issue. The terminal’s 2002 rebuild was rated at around 5.4 million passengers a year, and the 2025 total passed 6 million. Local commentators have called for a new terminal. The second runway eased pressure airside after 2018, so the passenger building is the real bottleneck.
Regional politics remain the wild card. Peace in Ukraine would reopen direct eastern routes, while renewed tension could repeat the airline departures of 2023. Moldova’s path towards European Union membership supports more Western European links. Chisinau Airport is busier than ever and running short of space. Compare it with other regional gateways on the Airports of the World map.
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