Flying to Brașov: Ghimbav or Otopeni

Brașov-Ghimbav (GHV)

Brașov-Ghimbav International Airport opened on 15 June 2023 — the first airport built from scratch in Romania in half a century — on the plain at Ghimbav, about 12 km from the city. Its IATA code is GHV. The terminal is small, new and quick: from the aircraft door to the kerb is minutes, not an hour.

Who flies here. Scheduled flights are Wizz Air only. Year-round routes include London Luton, Budapest, Dortmund, Nuremberg, Memmingen, Naples, Milan Malpensa and Rome Fiumicino; Katowice and Warsaw pause in winter. For winter 2026/27 Wizz Air is basing an aircraft here from December and adding Valencia (from 3 November 2026), Barcelona and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden (from 18 December), Chișinău (from 17 December) and Madrid (from 20 December) — fourteen destinations in all, as announced in August 2026. In summer a few charter flights to the Mediterranean are added. Routes change; book on the airline's site, not on a list.

From Ghimbav into town

• Bus A1. RATBV's airport line runs between the airport and Gara Brașov, the railway station, stopping at Stadionul Municipal, Biserica Bartolomeu, Livada Poștei (the stop for the Old Town) and Hidro A. In the timetable valid from September 2025 it leaves the airport on the hour from 07:00 to 23:00 (no 20:00 departure) and the station on the hour from 06:00 to 22:00 (no 19:00), every day. Pay by tapping a contactless card on the validator or with the 24pay app. Timetables follow the flights, so check ratbv.ro before a late arrival.
• Taxi or app. Bolt and Uber both serve the airport. Reported fares into the centre are around 30–40 lei, about twenty minutes; the app shows the price before you accept.
• Car hire. Several rental desks work from the terminal, and the car park in front of it is open around the clock. For Poiana Brașov, Bran or the fortified churches, a car from here is the most flexible start.
• Booked transfer. Worth it for a group, for skis, or for going straight to Poiana — see the offers below.

Bucharest Otopeni (OTP)

Henri Coandă International Airport, at Otopeni just north of Bucharest, is Romania's main airport, with the full-service airlines and most of the low-cost network. It is roughly 170 km from Brașov by road — about three hours on DN1 through the Prahova Valley on a clear day, and a good deal more on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons, when the valley is one long queue. Plan for that; it is the single biggest variable in the trip.

From Otopeni to Brașov

1. Shuttle minibus. Many operators run door-to-door or terminal-to-centre minibuses between Otopeni and Brașov, around the clock at busy times; aggregators list fares from about 100 lei. Book ahead, and choose one that tracks your flight. It is the default for most travellers without a car.
2. Train. Otopeni has its own station, Aeroport Henri Coandă, next to the airport. Trains to Brașov usually mean a change at București Nord; allow roughly three hours door to door. Check times and buy on the CFR Călători site, and see the train station page for the Brașov end.
3. Private transfer. The most comfortable option and, for three or four people with luggage, not much dearer per head than the shuttle. Essential for a late landing.
4. Hire car. All the big firms are at Otopeni. The drive is simple but slow — see getting here for the DN1 and the alternatives when it jams.

Which airport?

If Wizz Air flies your route, Ghimbav wins by hours. For everything else — long-haul connections, flag carriers, more frequent flights — it is Otopeni, and then the transfer is part of the trip. Weigh the fare difference against three hours on the road each way, and against a Friday-evening Prahova Valley.