The expansion of cooperation was discussed during a meeting of the LOT Airlines representative at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development. This was announced by State Secretary for Transport Mircea Pasqualuta. The Polish airline has been operating flights to Chisinau since 2014.
Naturally, the interest of LOT Airlines in flights to/from the Marculeşti airport attracts special attention. It is possible that such an offer was made to the Polish carrier by the Moldovan side as part of the new development strategy of this regional airport.
As is known, the Public Property Agency (APP), which manages the Chisinau and Marculesti airports, announced in January 2025 a project to merge these two state-owned enterprises. The country’s authorities believe that in this way it will be possible to unload the capital’s airport and give impetus to the development of Marculesti. Currently, only cargo flights are serviced there, and not on a regular basis. The merger process started in February.
According to Mircea Pasqualuta, the studies carried out showed the need to invest at least 4.1 million euros in the Marculesti airport. It is necessary to equip the terminal for passenger services, to renovate the runway and to replenish the air traffic control equipment necessary for the fulfillment of flights. All this is planned to be done at the expense of the profit received by the Chisinau airport in the record volume of transportation in 2024. It is planned to launch passenger flights to/from Marculesti by the end of 2025.
Despite the attractiveness of the idea, aviation experts are rather skeptical about the possibility of involving Marculesti airport in charter passenger transportation.
Theoretically, a small flow of passengers can be established. But the state of infrastructure in Marculesti is unlikely to inspire them. Even if a small section of the road from the highway to the airport itself is urgently repaired, it will not change the situation globally. The issue of regular buses from Chisinau and other cities will have to be solved. Airlines are unlikely to do this, as we are talking about low-cost. It is not profitable for private carriers to wait for one flight a day, for them economic interest will appear only when the number of passengers will be measured in thousands. This will not be achieved immediately, and the lack of convenient road connections within the country will scare away from Markulesti even those who find the flight and connection prices of LOT Airlines attractive. And the cost of a bus or a cab will negate the savings from low-cost.
Whether the Polish carrier and the Moldovan authorities will be able to break it is a big question. But there are other nuances, which make us doubt the success of another “take-off” of the airport Marculeşti. Where to get qualified personnel for passenger service and flight support? What to do with the passengers if the flight is canceled for some reason – there is no hotel nearby.
However, we do not know the specific contours of the Polish company’s plans yet and we have not seen the calculations of the payback period of the project of using Markulesht Airport for international air transportation. Perhaps, the 4.1 million euros, which the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development has calculated for investments in the airport, will be enough to fundamentally transform the entire related infrastructure and solve the seemingly problematic issues. It will not function on subsidies from the Chisinau airport.
Moreover, there are positive aspects. Experts note that the airfield in Marculesti has a good runway, length 2512 meters, width 40 (it was built in Soviet times with the expectation to be used for military purposes). If money is allocated, the airfield complex can be developed in the shortest possible time. And we have the example of Iasi airport, where the fourth passenger terminal (the second largest in Romania) was opened in March 2024 and the parking lot was expanded last year. Iasi Airport has quickly transformed from a provincial airport to a modern international airport. Everything depends on investments and a properly structured development strategy….
