Major Romanian city temporarily bans car access to the airport due to traffic jams

Iasi City Hall has banned car access to the International Airport for three months, starting on May 2. The decision was made after several traffic jams lasting for hours occurred in the last month.

Mayor Mihai Chirica announced the new measure during a Local Council meeting. He specified that all personal vehicles, including taxis, are forbidden from accessing the airport, and that passengers will be picked up by the municipality's buses, which will run every 15 minutes from a point located about 2 kilometers away from the airport.

The measure will be in effect for three months until the setting up of an extended parking lot in front of the airport is completed. The parking lot is currently closed due to the construction of a new terminal, T4.

"By the mayor's order, access from Pod Ciric to the airport will be prohibited except for those who have a special identification sticker, as there are no homes in that area. If you're a worker, you can enter; if you're not a worker, you can't enter. If you're a passenger, you can't enter; you leave your car in the parking lot, take the bus, and in 15 minutes, you will be taken, along with your luggage, to the terminal where you need to check in or perform other airport operations," said Mihai Chirica, cited by Libertatea.

The mayor also stated that all parking lots in the Ciric area, which precedes the access to the airport, will be cleared by May 2, and barriers will be installed to prevent cars from occupying them.

"We will clear the parking lots, especially those on the left, from where we will provide transportation, together with the Public Transport Company, to transfer passengers from personal vehicles to the airport. The parking lot will be charged starting from May 2, to discourage the abandonment of cars and to keep the traffic flow as free as possible," the mayor further explained.

Employees of the airport, airlines, Border Police, SRI (Romanian Intelligence Service), and those working at the T4 terminal construction site will be the only ones allowed to drive their personal vehicles to the airport. They will receive special stickers for easy identification and access. Special filters will be installed on all roads leading to the airport to sort incoming traffic.

"We will install a permanent checkpoint, and airport staff will perform special controls at the parking lots. Access to the airport will only be made by bus if individuals have a valid travel ticket for the flight, as well as in the parking area, to ensure presence at the right time for those who want to take off or arrive from various routes to Iasi," said Mihai Chirica.