Aurel Vlaicu International Airport

Bucharest Aurel Vlaicu Airport is located in Băneasa district, Bucharest, Romania, 8.5km north of the city center. Named after Aurel Vlaicu, a Romanian engineer, inventor, aeroplane constructor and early pilot, it was Bucharest's only airport until 1965, when the Otopeni Airport was opened to civilian use.Until March 2012, when it was converted into a business airport, Aurel Vlaicu International was the second airport in Romania in terms of air traffic, and Bucharest's low-cost hub.HistoryThe first flights in the Băneasa area took place in 1909 and they were carried out by the French pilot and aviation pioneer Louis Blériot. In 1912 the first flight school in Romania was opened on Băneasa airfield. This makes Băneasa airport the oldest continuously operating airport in Eastern Europe, and among the oldest five airports in the world.In 1920, the airport headquartered the first aviation company in Romania, and one of the earliest in the world, the CFRNA (The French – Romanian Company for Air Navigation), the precursor of the Romanian national airline, TAROM. In 1923 the CFRNA built the industrial facilities for aircraft maintenance in Băneasa; on that base the aerospace company Romaero was created in the 1960s.The current terminal building was designed in the late 1940s and opened in 1952. At that time it was considered one of the finest architectural features of Bucharest. The building consists of a central dome with three distinct wings which represents an airplane propeller with three blades.