"Ryanair" is interested in the plans for the modernization of the Iaşi International Airport

Constantin Adăscăliţei, vicepresident of the Ia i County Council, has stated that the representatives of the Ryanair low-cost airline have expressed their interest for participating in the plans for the modernization of the Iaşi International Airport. "They have been in touch with us for quite some time. They would like us to make available to them certain technical data, and by that I mean the plans for the modernization of the Airport, as well as commercial data, meaning details concerning costs, fees, airport capacity, flights etc. Ryanair would then present us a technical offer for the current location owned by the County Council. They want to make a study which would include some changes of the aspects that they feel should be improved for the current runway, in order to obtain profit", Mr. Constantin Adăscăliţei stated. He also added that by the end of the year, the Ryanair company will introduce the study in question, without any need for financial involvement from the administration of the county of Ia i. "Maybe they have a more pragmatic solution. Had the Emergency Decree (concerning the exchange of the plots of land neighboring the airport - editor s note), we could have even begun excavating. It is known that it is not the entire plot of land that is encumbered by liens, it is rather some < islands > which are giving us trouble", Adăscăliţei said.

According to Adăscăliţei, Ryanair"s goal is to offer specialized flight services, especially for the travel sector. "This company has selected Iaşi because it represents a strategic spot in the connection between Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, but also after finalizing an analysis of the progress of our county"s economy", the vicepresident of the Iaşi county council added.

The Irish airline Ryanair, the european leader in the low-cost sector, has returned to Romania this year, with the first operational flight being the Arad-Milano-Bergamo route. In Europe, Ryanair has 23 bases and 605 routes in 26 countries. The airline operator has 5000 employees and carries some 50 million passengers a year.

Concerning the Iaşi International Airport, the project for its modernization has been delayed by some problems related to the exchange of the lands between the county administration of Ia i and several land owners in the area, as well as the fact that the Government has not yet issued an Emergency Decree for transferring the lands owned by several state institutions into the patrimony of the Iaşi County Council.

If the problem of the plots of land isn"t solved, the Iaşi County Council runs the risk of missing out again this year on the 10 million lei in government funds allotted for the beginning of the modernization works of the Iaşi international airport, just like it happened at the end of lat year, for the same reasons.

According to the modernization project, the future airport of Iaşi will cover a total area of over 300 hectares, compared to the 121 hectares it currently covers. The remaining area will be obtained by transferring the plots of land owned by several institutions subordinated to the Ministry of Defense, to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administrative Reform, to the Ministry for the Environment and Durable Development and to the Romanian Intelligence Service. Also, several plots of land belonging to natural persons and companies have been included.

The plan for the modernization of the Iaşi is an extremely ambitious one, involving an extension of the runway, the construction of a new air terminal, of a cargo terminal and of a hangar, as well as of other facilities needed for such an objective. The take-off/landing strip will be 3 kilometers long and 45 meters wide, the runways will have a length of 4031 meters and a width of 23 meters, and the boarding platforms will be 1005.5 meters long and 213 meters wide.

The airport terminal has been conceived taking into account the dimensions of the runway, which restrict or allow the landing of high capacity aircraft. Thus, the new building will be built based on a modular structure, which would allow subsequent extensions. The plans for this stage will allow the airport to handle 1 million travelers a year, but this capacity can be extended in the next 5-10 years to accommodate two million passengers a year, if needed. The terminal designed for this stage spans 17000 square meters, has all the facilities such an objective needs, including spaces needed for the development of stores and other services required by an airport. The new airport will also include a cargo area, areas for the parking of eight high capacity planes and of an additional seven smaller planes, a some 1.500 spot parking lot etc. The road networks should be reconfigured, so as to ensure two main access roads and two emergency access roads. The government funding will be used for the runway and terminal works, but the Iaşi administration also intends to enter a joint-venture with a specialized investor for the execution of the neighboring works: the construction of a cargo area, the creation of a new highway leading to the Airport, providing the methane gas supply, the renovation of the electricity and water mains, etc