After the tragic event in which Yurika Masuno, 20, was raped and killed, tourism websites and blogs began to sound the alarm about problems at Henri Coanda Airport - Otopeni.
The authorities have already taken special security measures, but are they enough?
I read about these issues on several travel sites and blogs - George - World traveler, Caesar - ImperatorTravel, Anca - Funtur, Alex - Tourist, Liliana - The pleasure of traveling, Anca - 1001 trips, Florin - Free time, Petrus - Digital Travel Guide2.0, Carmina - Travel with a smile, Mădălin - Tourism market, Roxana - The CityBreak, Narcisa – TravelGirls, Tim, Alina – Wafu, lumeamare.ro and the list is open.
So I join them and I want to mention some of the problems that Henri Coanda Airport has.
The problems at Henri Coanda Airport
Many mentioned the transport from Otopeni Airport to Bucharest and vice versa. From my point of view, this problem is solved with the support of RATB and CFR.
As for the buses, they are 2 783 and 780 express lines, which go very well day and night. They have a well established and respected program. At night they have the program correlated with the other buses operating in Bucharest.
When all the flights from Baneasa to Otopeni were moved, I brought up the idea of a night transport. And it didn't last long, and on 12 April RATB announces availability of buses, on 783 and 780 express lines, at night.
And since then I have tried them all. Now they have controllers, people who check everybody's compost and nobody gets on. I gave up the taxi because it was about 70 lei in front of the block until I entered the airport building.
So I confidently turn to the night RATB. Tickets can be found at the kiosk located in the station from Unirii - Horoscope, from where the other RATB night lines start, and from OTP you can buy tickets from the dedicated machine or the RATB tones.
Means of transport from / to Otopeni Airport
It is true that you have to give yourself more time. From Unirii to Otopeni, the express takes about 45-50 minutes, an average time calculated according to traffic.
So I think the problem is not in the public transport. The problems are of a different nature. Otopeni Airport lacks an information desk, clear indicators for passengers to be directed to public transport, an office through which they can call a taxi, a credible staff and here I refer to those who shoot of carts that approach you without a minimum of respect.
At Otopeni Airport you cannot find a tourist brochure, a police office. And if there is any, it means they are badly promoted and signaled.
I know cases where security personnel do nothing to those who claim to be taxi drivers. I suffered this, I was insistently approached by a dubious character who offered me a cheap taxi, I reported to an agent who said "Romprest Security" and nothing was done.
We want more responsibility from the authorities
These are the big problems of Otopeni airport. That businessmen are knowingly left in the airport yard and premises.
The airport authorities should be more concerned about what the employees do in their yard, why the agents of the security company, the safety of the passenger, etc.
I heard a statement coming on the official channel and it was said that the security issue is about the police. Okay, it's up to the police, but the rules are made by those who run the Otopeni Airport. So we want more responsibility!
The airports in the country have become more secure than the one in Bucharest and this should be an alarm signal. If you have other issues, I invite you to comment on them in a comment. Careful! We are not referring to the crowding and how British Airport Transfers are checked in.
This article is part of a series of other articles written by travel bloggers at the initiative of Cezar aka ImperatorTravel.ro and is intended as an alarm signal to airport authorities.