Romania’s largest airport is completely dysfunctional. Entry into the Schengen airspace was a blow from which it has not yet recovered, with authorities being unprepared, despite political leaders trying to convince citizens otherwise. Corruption, administrative chaos, and a crisis of authority have created a nightmare for Romanian and foreign travelers.
Throughout 2023, the number of people using the airport gate exceeded 14 million, reaching the level from 2019, recorded before the onset of the pandemic, but services have collapsed.
Sorin Grindeanu, the Minister of Transport, blames last year’s corruption scandal, when George Alexandru Ivan, director of the National Company Bucharest Airports, was indicted by DNA prosecutors, for accepting bribes of around 22 million euros from company representatives renting commercial spaces at the airport.
The manager reached an agreement with the prosecutors, but it was rejected by the judges, and the case went to court.
Accustomed to Failure
The air conditioning system cannot cope. At 4:00 PM, at the departure terminal of the airport, there are over a thousand people waiting to board.
Many are leaving for vacation, others for work, after a short visit to their families and relatives in Romania, but there are also dozens of foreigners in transit or who have visited the country, now disoriented and with a bitter taste, waiting to board planes.
On Thursday, June 20, temperatures reached 37 degrees Celsius, and the sun heated the asphalt in front of the airport entrances, flooded by a river of cars bringing travelers.
Employees, sluggish from the heat, cannot manage the traffic, while drivers have decided to fend for themselves. Inside, behind the glass doors, it's warmer than outside. There are hundreds of people at the security checkpoint, and border police officers are barely holding off the travelers' assault.
There is no orderly line to follow to reach the lanes for carry-on luggage. Even though there is willingness to organize it, the space is insufficient, and the rules are diluted in the heat and crowds.
It is a physical challenge to put your belongings in the security scanner tray. The system only works through the goodwill and patience of travelers leaving the country.
The wait is at least 15 minutes, but people are accustomed to the authorities' failures in Romania and do not comment.
If someone dares to murmur or curse under their breath, their anger dissipates in the heat of the air and the indifference of those around them.
Description of Corruption
From what is visible, Romania's entry into the Schengen airspace was the final blow to the airport. The infrastructure collapsed, and there are no signs that it will recover soon or that anyone is addressing the issue.
In two successive trips, made in the last two months, the airport's operation deteriorated.
The renovation works that were supposed to be completed before entering Schengen have not been finished yet. A part of the airport, the area where the passport control points were, is an abandoned construction site.
The place looks as if no one has managed to find a use for it so far. Metal frames and plasterboards are piled up, waiting for builders who no longer come.
After passing through the border police control, travelers enter a narrow, chaotic, and uncomfortable area as if they have to undergo a final physical and mental test before leaving the country.
The waiting area starts with a duty-free shop that resembles the previous one, but after passing it, there is a corridor with closed or under renovation commercial spaces, creating a scene reminiscent of a cataclysm's effects.
Heat, dirt, and overcrowding are defining elements of the departure terminal at Otopeni Airport, vividly describing corruption and administrative incapacity in Romania.
Revenues Tripled, but Misery Persists
"The good thing is that some cleaning has been done there, and it's not about actual cleanliness but about the cleanliness related to spaces and all the things you know," stated Sorin Grindeanu, the Minister of Transport, in an interview at the end of March.
"There were transparent auctions held at the Romanian Commodities Exchange, with bidding, who offers more. Revenues tripled. Contracts signed recently for all duty-free and airport space areas mean revenues three times higher than before," added the PSD official.
These revenues exist only on paper because many commercial spaces are closed, others are moving, and several have been under renovation for months.
From the minister's statement, it is evident that he is aware that Otopeni Airport is one of the dirtiest in Europe.
Not even "actual cleaning" is done, as the official stated. There is "muck" in front of the sinks in the sanitary areas, and the toilets are barely accessible and quickly exited.
An Administrative Crisis
In early June, the National Consumer Protection Agency (ANPC) conducted a raid at the airport, where fines totaling over 70,000 euros were imposed for "dirt and failure to comply with the recommended temperature for frozen products."
The ANPC report mentions many more irregularities, halting commercial services in "11 work points." This means that a large number of shops have been closed.
The agents' raid followed dozens of complaints from travelers, deeply dissatisfied with the conditions they are forced to endure for hours until boarding their flights, as well as the exorbitant prices of products sold at the airport.
The promised improvements by Minister Grindeanu did not materialize, as the airport looked deplorable at the beginning of the summer vacation and the main holiday period.
Another unresolved problem by Grindeanu is that of the airport's prices.
Last year's corruption scandal brought to public debate the fact that, due to illegal arrangements, travelers were being exploited by merchants.
But that has not changed. A croissant at Otopeni Airport still costs more than one at a café on the Champs Elysee in Paris.
The general impression is that the authorities are overwhelmed by the crisis here and have given up due to lack of solutions.
Some hope that a new terminal will solve the situation, but it is only a bureaucratic illusion and an optimistic way to justify an administrative catastrophe.
Frequent changes in leadership, hiring based on connections, workplace relationships poisoned by political influences, the Ministry of Transport's incapacity, and the authorities' lack of intervention have turned Otopeni Airport into a vividly colored trap that is hard to escape, especially if the plane takes off with a delay.