The Braşov-Ghimbav International Airport reached the milestone of 200,000 passengers on Friday, a moment of assessment during which the airport’s management announced that since its inauguration, 100 tons of cargo have also been transported. However, the airport faces a problem: the lack of a restaurant.
The main priority for the upcoming period will be the expansion of the boarding platform and attracting new airlines to the Braşov airport in order to increase the number of destinations, stated Adrian Veştea, the newly elected President of the Braşov County Council.
"Contrary to the skeptics' predictions who claimed that flights would never take off from Braşov (...), today, the Braşov Airport is, in some months, even in ninth place among the 17 airports in Romania. Today, we have reached the figure of 200,000 passengers, and I am confident that in the coming months, we will be on an increasingly positive trend and will be among the top six - perhaps even five - airports in Romania."
"The first objective is the expansion of the platform, and we will ensure that all the current deficiencies we face are resolved. I will instill more confidence in the airlines and assure the people of Braşov that we will have more and more flights from the Braşov airport," stated Veştea, who will resume his position as President of the Braşov County Council, the supervisory body of the Braşov airport, starting from October.
The increase in the number of passengers is the main long-term objective of the Braşov Airport management, as according to specialists' estimates, only after reaching a threshold of 700,000 passengers can we talk about achieving a "break-even" point in terms of expenses and revenues.
"I estimate that break-even point - where revenues equal operating expenses - will be reached when the threshold of 700,000 passengers is achieved, which, over time, would mean approximately four years. However, everything is linked to the expansion of the platform. With the current one, which has only four parking spaces, this time frame would be extended. We need to find the best solution and secure rapid financing so that next year, this new platform can be put into operation," emphasized Mircea Albu, the Director of the Braşov Airport.
A source of income for the Braşov airport is renting out commercial spaces on the premises; however, for the largest ones, currently there is no interest in the space designated for duty-free sales and the 200-square-meter space for a restaurant.
While the winning company for the duty-free space withdrew before signing the contract, the situation for the restaurant space, for which the asking price was 33 euros/square meter, is different, as there are no tenants willing to make the investment. One solution could be to bring a company to Braşov that operates similar food service activities at other airports.
The international travel retailer Lagardère already operates at the Braşov airport, having expanded its activities to several Romanian airports in recent years.
"We have put commercial spaces up for rent - those for duty-free, snack bar, car rental companies, tourism operators, and the restaurant. Some were leased at the first call, and some at the second auction. Now we are resuming auctions for duty-free and the restaurant, where the starting prices are slightly higher, hence potential tenants have not shown interest. We are in the phase of evaluating the spaces with an expert to find the correct starting price for the auction. Once we have the report, we will convene a meeting of the County Council, and after approval, we will have a new round of auctions," specified Albu.
He added that passengers' requests, communicated through an online survey, have also been taken into account, one of them being the arrangement of smoking areas.
"We were keen on addressing all the requests from those who write to us, we consider their opinions, and we have already solved the issue raised by smokers by setting up a smoking area in the non-Schengen area. The smoking issue becomes more pressing when a company is delayed by two to three hours," mentioned the Director of the Braşov airport.