BUCHAREST OTOPENI AIRPORT review : 20 December 2009 : by Leonard Wells

Customer Rating : 4/5

I was impressed by the speed of immigration on arrival and received a nice welcome from the officer checking my passport. Customs ignored me and I was out in less than 8 minutes in total. The bus journey into the city centre was -as everyone says- a nightmare. The only way to avoid it is to arrive late in the evening and take a taxi. The departure was different. There does not seem to be room for a queue and if you don't speak Romanian it can be hard to check if you are in the correct queue. Nevertheless it was all fairly friendly and I have seen worse at Heathrow!

BUCHAREST OTOPENI AIRPORT review : 15 September 2008 : by Maria Ionita

Customer Rating : 2/5

Although it's only about 10 miles away from Bucharest, traffic to and from the airport is a nightmare: depending on the time of day, it takes anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to get there (also, beware of incredible rip-offs with the taxis; best arrange for someone to pick you up/drive you there). The new layout in the Departures terminal means that check-in, security screening and passport control move much faster now. There is plenty of space to sit down and stroll in the lounges, ok shopping, as well as smoking areas. Arrivals is still in some need of improvement: if you deplane via bus (which seems to be the rule rather than the exception), you have to climb two storeys on an incredibly narrow spiral staircase (and it can be quite difficult, especially with a heavy carry-on or a stroller; do not count on the elevators working). Luggage arrives quite quickly. But the biggest problems at Otopeni are the state of the lavatories and price gouging. The lavatories are, without exception, filthy: nobody seems to bother cleaning them very often, toilet paper and soap are frequently missing, and they also appear to double as smoking areas for the custodial staff. Price gouging is epic: a small water or Coke is over 3 Euros, beer and coffee are pushing 5 Euros. Same goes for the dismal snacks. In short, it's a terrible place for a long layover, but an ok one if you only have one or 2 hours to kill.

Bucharest Otopeni Airport review by James Duckworth

22 March 2008   Customer Rating :

Immigration quickly cleared and baggage quickly appeared. Travel into the city is a nightmare - the road network is wholly inadequate for a developing city. Check in for returning flight was quick with no queue but then very long wait at security probably due to heightened measures ahead of the NATO summit. Departure lounge comfortable, if slightly basic, but all outlets, food and non-food very expensive. Range of food on offer very restricted - OK for a snack but not more (even if you could afford it). All outlets will accept EUR but do not seem to have change.

Bucharest Otopeni Airport review by Robert Bushby

19 March 2008   Customer Rating :

There are separate buildings for arrivals and departures. Arrived on easyjet (although they may be switching to Banesca which is altogether the poorer relation of the two airports serving Bucharest). Bussed to the terminal from the aircraft and immigration was swift as was baggage retrieval. Once outside I recommend you press on through the throng of taxi touts and either take the bus into town or a grab Fly Taxi cab and they will be at the head of the rank where their supervisor will get you organized. The meter only ticks when you are moving which is just as well as traffic can be heavy. There are cheaper and just as honest taxis but they either have to be phoned for or you need to seek them out at arrivals. Departing was a breeze, security was pleasant but extremely thorough. Once through the formalities the shops are outrageously expensive compared to down town and whilst prices are displayed in euro local lei are readily accepted in the handful of cafes. Overall Otopeni is a small not very busy and clean facility surrounded by acres of apron and runway.

Bucharest Otopeni Airport review by C Roberts

23 December 2007   Customer Rating :

A surprisingly good airport in terms of efficiency. While check-in is becoming a bit more chaotic and takes longer due to increased traffic, it still has one of the quickest check-in times for an airport in Europe. Arrivals are usually a breeze. I think the longest I've had to wait at passport control is 5 minutes, and the longest for baggage 15 minutes. The building and services are in need of an upgrade, but that's OK with me since it's easy to spend a minimum amount of time at the airport.

Bucharest Otopeni Airport review by A Elbaloula

28 November 2007   Customer Rating :

Overall a clean airport, transfer from domestic to international flights very quick and bus connection very convenient. Airport personnel not smiling, customs officers rude and do not speak English, still not used to accept EEA/EU ID Cards and mix them up with other non-EU nationalities compared to Sofia Airport customs for example. A big smile is needed, even if you are a customs airport officer, to leave the country with a good impression.

Bucharest Otopeni Airport review by Rob Weeks

26 November 2007   Customer Rating :

Modern but quite small airport. Security and baggage efficient and quite quick. Travel between airport and city is horrendously slow - the road just can't handle the weekday traffic volume.

Bucharest Otopeni Airport review by Peter Cartledge

20 June 2007   Customer Rating :

A rather small, but clean, new airport with modern facilities, a good business lounge. Quite a number of shops, which I didn't use; a previous report described them as expensive, but all a/port shops are. Check-in was rather awkward because the area is rather small, not much room for queues and already despite its newness, can get very crowded. This could be a problem in future as Romania develops, particularly as the other airport in Bucharest has now virtually closed. Passport control and customs are quick and efficient and stress free on a European Union passport. Baggage handling also OK.

Bucharest Otopeni Airport review by Tony Maddern

28 August 2006   Customer Rating : n/a

Bucharest airport serves it's purpose, but it's nothing too exciting. Food outlets are very limited and overpriced, there are also some overpriced shops in the departures area. It is a fairly small airport, so moving through the airport is quick and easy. Transfers between Bucharest City and the This airport take about 20 - 45 mins. There are 2 methods of public transport between the city and airport. A bus, which takes 40mins to 1 hour, or a taxi which will cost about £3.00 - £6.00 or £8.00 if you get ripped off. Fly taxi is the only taxi company allowed to take passengers from the airport and their taxis charge twice the rate of the other taxi companies. I felt that it was worth me taking the time to provide this piece of information as there has been nothing written since last September, so I hope that it is published and useful to others.

Bucharest Otopeni Airport review by  Matthew Ross

1 September 2005

This is now a good, clean, modern and efficient airport - a pleasant surprise. When recently departing the airport seemed almost deserted, so there is clearly room for a considerable increase in traffic. In short, this could and should be a regional hub airport. In common with much of Eastern Europe, smoking restrictions are less than in the West. I cannot comment on public transport access as I was collected by car. Traffic to/from the city centre can be busy (and some pretty erratic driving can be observed), so allow plenty of time.

Bucharest Otopeni Airport review by  Graham Rothwell

31 May 2004

I've use the airport several times over the last 8 years and have found a great improvement in it service. it's still not up to English standard but considering it past I feel it's doing very well with most of the facilities are friendly accessible and comparable and better in price to ours in England. Prices may fluctuate but there no worse than the very, very high prices we can pay in our country if we allow the airports to rip us off.

Bucharest Otopeni Airport review by  Nikolaus Rieskamp

25 July 2003

The international airport at Otopeni has the international standard and is quite comfortable for a Romanian point of view. The building is clean and the ways are short, as the airport is quite small. The weak points are the rude agents at the buffets in the departure hall and especially the rip-off taxi-drivers who wait for arriving passengers. It is recommended to hold the luggage firmly in the hands, to avoid it getting loaded in the taxi faster than you can watch. Always negotiate the fare before entering/loading the taxi. Never pay more than 400.000 Romanian LEI (11 EURO) for Bucharest-City-Centre ! Normally, they demand 600.000 LEI or even more. Avoid paying in Euro, there are cash-dispensers and changing counters in the arrival hall. There is a good bus-link to the city (nr. 783), for only 10% of the taxi-price (37.000 LEI) that leaves every 30 minutes. Departure is downstairs in the arrival hall (no signs!), the stairs are close to the exits. Tickets must be purchased before boarding the bus in a nearly invisible shop-box outside of the building.




 

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