Romania’s aviation sector posted strong growth in 2025, handling 28.48 million passengers, up 9.5% from 26.01 million the previous year, according to National Institute of Statistics data.

Bucharest’s Henri Coandă airport dominated, recording 8.54 million departures and 8.46 million arrivals, followed by Cluj-Napoca’s Avram Iancu (1.77 million arrivals, 1.76 million departures) and Iași International (1.13 million arrivals and departures).

Domestic routes underscored airport hierarchies, with Henri Coandă capturing 49.6% of all departures, Cluj 18.3%, and Timișoara 13.1%.

London Luton leads international routes

The UK’s Luton airport topped arrivals on regular flights with 1.11 million passengers, followed by Milan Bergamo (606,000), Munich (442,000), Brussels Charleroi (398,000), and Istanbul (391,000). Departure patterns were nearly identical, with Luton at 1.1 million and Bergamo 612,000.

Italy, UK and Germany drive cross-border flows

Italy sent 2.57 million arriving passengers, the UK 1.82 million and Germany 1.62 million. Spain (1.19 million), France (854,000), Turkey (548,000), Belgium (458,000) and Greece (423,000) followed.

For departures, Italy (2.57 million), the UK (1.82 million) and Germany (1.65 million) led, with Spain close behind at 1.19 million. The numbers reflect low-cost carrier expansion, strong diaspora ties and leisure recovery.