Traffic on the Otopeni Airport only increased in the first two months of 2020, after which the pandemic hit. Decline went as far as 98% compared with the year-earlier periods starting April, according to the data National Company Bucharest Airports supplied to ZF.
With the restrictions caused by the pandemic in place, people had to give up flying and chose vacations in their home country instead.
National Company Bucharest Airports data show the busiest month in terms of traffic in 2020 was January, when more than one million people passed through the airport. Three months later, in April, there were barely 20,000. The figures show the number of people who actually boarded a flight to a destination.
In August, when most people go on vacation, traffic on the Otopeni Airport stood at a little more than 426,000 passengers or almost one quarter of the 1.5 million that had passed through the airport in the year-earlier month.
The decline came as a result of the restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic when most countries closed their borders. Moreover, many people who had booked trips that were not cancelled chose to stay home for fear of getting the virus.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)