Airliners To Pay Higher Taxes On Bucharest’s Baneasa Airport

„Taxes on Baneasa Airport will be higher than those on Otopeni Airport due to the investments made here, and in this way the airport will retrieve a part of the invested money. Airliners might thus relocate their activities to Otopeni. Starting 2012, Otopeni would be able to take over Baneasa’s entire operations and the latter would operate only mobile emergency service flights or police flights,” said Mihalcea.

He said airport taxes in other EU countries are almost double for airports located in towns that those outside towns.

Mihalcea added taxes on Otopeni Airport might be reduced as traffic increases.

„Smaller taxes are applied on airports with more than 50,000 flights and Otopeni Airport might reduce landing taxes as air traffic intensifies,” Mihalcea said, adding part of the money invested in Baneasa Airport will be retrieved from the taxes airline companies cash from their passengers.

Starting Saturday, planes weighing more than 50 tons are forbidden to take off or land on Baneasa Airport between midnight and 7 a.m. at the request of the homeowners near the airport who complained about the noise made by the planes. The measure affected low cost airliners Blue Air and Wizz Air.

People have built homes near the airport in northern Bucharest in recent years, despite inconveniences such as noise made by planes. However, homeowners later complained about the noise and even called for the airport to be moved.