The result puts it ahead of Romanian-owned low-cost carrier Blue Air again, as well as more than one million passengers behind market leader Wizz Air, which carried 4.5 million people to and from Romania.
Tarom is facing increased competition from low-cost airlines, which have turned to Romania to boost revenue, and are offering new routes and low prices.
The flag carrier was the only one operating domestic flights until last year, where it carries more than half a million people a year, according got ZF estimates. The first company to challenge that was Blue Air, which introduced flights from Bucharest to Iasi and back. Then Ryanair, Europe’s largest low-cost airline announced it would introduce flights on the Bucharest-Timisoara route in November 2016. This is one of the most important domestic routes for Tarom. Wizz Air, too, will start offering flights from Bucharest to Cluj-Napoca as of July 22. Blue Air will add this route in June.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)