A former ROMATSA employee received the highest retirement bonus granted in recent years by a public institution in Romania: 2,771,040 lei, an amount equivalent to approximately 532,000 euros.
ROMATSA, the Romanian Air Traffic Services Administration, is an agency under the Ministry of Transport. The institution provides air traffic services in Romanian airspace.
The value of this bonus is comparable to the price of approximately five apartments in Bucharest or to the cumulative salary of the Romanian president over a period of about 15 years.
Data obtained from DeFapt.ro shows that, between 2024-2026, ROMATSA granted retirement benefits totaling approximately 20 million euros for 96 employees.
This results in an average of about 200,000 euros for each person who retired during this period.
ROMATSA says it does not receive funds from the budget
This situation arises in a context where the government led by Ilie Bolojan has adopted measures to reduce budgetary expenses, including a 10% tax on certain allowances granted to widows and war veterans.
At the same time, ROMATSA has paid retirement bonuses and benefits of hundreds of thousands of euros for a single employee.
However, ROMATSA representatives specify that the institution is self-financed and that revenues come from the fees paid by airlines for air navigation services.
General Director Adrian Cojoc stated that the fees are set in accordance with European and national regulations and that they are intended to cover the costs associated with providing air navigation services.
What ROMATSA retirees received in recent years
In 2024, 43 ROMATSA employees retired. For these individuals, the institution paid retirement benefits totaling 38,433,396 lei, approximately 7.4 million euros.
On average, each of the 43 retirees received approximately 172,000 euros.
In 2025, the number of retirees was 42. The total amount granted in the form of retirement bonuses increased to 46,707,302 lei, equivalent to approximately 9 million euros.
Calculated per employee, the average value of the bonus reached approximately 214,000 euros.
By the time of data provision in 2026, 12 employees had retired. Together, they received 19,449,892 lei. Thus, the average for each retiree was approximately 312,000 euros.
Thousands of euros in salaries for ROMATSA leadership
ROMATSA is one of the public institutions under the Ministry of Transport, with its main responsibility being the provision of air traffic services.
According to information previously published by DeFapt.ro, the income of the institution's management is also high.
Adrian Marius Cojoc, the General Director of ROMATSA, reportedly increased his salary by 150% in 2025. His monthly income rose from 7,610 euros to approximately 18,300 euros, which amounts to around 220,000 euros annually.
The institution's Chief Financial Officer, Radu Cristian Cîțu, has an even higher monthly income, around 21,000 euros. Annually, this sum reaches approximately 252,000 euros.
Thus, in addition to the substantial retirement bonuses granted, ROMATSA stands out for the high level of income among its leadership.
ROMATSA accounts have been frozen
On June 30, 2026, ROMATSA was notified by Eurocontrol, the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation, regarding the imposition of an executive precautionary seizure within a forced execution procedure initiated by Pfizer Romania SRL against the Romanian state.
The claimed amount is 3.42 billion lei, representing the principal amount and interest, along with recovery costs of 18.5 million euros.
According to ROMATSA, the notification concerns the sums collected by Eurocontrol for en-route air navigation services provided by the agency.
The Ministry of Transport stated that it is considering, together with the Ministry of Defense, the possibility for military structures to temporarily take over the control of civil air traffic if ROMATSA is unable to continue its operations.
100,000 Euro Retirement Bonus at Romsilva
Last year, the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) was notified about the situation of former Romsilva General Director Teodor Țigan, who retired in 2023, received a retirement bonus of 100,000 euros gross, and was then rehired at Romsilva as the Director of the Arad Forestry Directorate, combining his pension with his salary.
Retiring in 2023, former Romsilva General Director Teodor Țigan, who was then the Director of the Arad Forestry Directorate, received a retirement bonus of 100,000 euros gross. However, he continued his work as the Director of the Arad Forestry Directorate, combining his pension with his salary.
According to the collective labor agreement of Romsilva (approved and signed by Teodor Țigan himself when he was the General Director), after reaching retirement age, he could benefit from successive extensions of one year each (up to three years maximum) of the individual employment contract.
Minister of Environment Diana Buzoianu later announced that the court rejected the action filed by Teodor Țigan, the Director of the Arad Forestry Directorate, and upheld the decision to terminate his employment contract. Additionally, the judges ruled that he must return the amount of 280,520 lei, representing the previously received retirement bonus. The decision is not final.