Chisinau International Airport in a nutshell
Moldova's capital, Chisinau, has the country's only international airport 12 km southeast of the city centre.
Within Europe, Chisinau is one of the smaller airports with direct flights mainly to Western Europe, Romania, Turkey and Dubai.
Moldova's FlyOne airline has its main base in Chisinau and Wizz Air and Turkish Airlines also operate a significant number of flights.
In 2024, the airport changed its IATA code, an abbreviation commonly used in flight search engines, from KIV to RMO.
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3 comments
Hello!
Yesterday I came back from Chisinau, or rather Tiraspol. Some tips.
Fuck off with eSIM from Airalo and the like, install mymoldcell app already in CR, buy their eSIM there, 50GB of data costs 49 lei, which is about 62Kč. You can pay in the app with a credit card, even a one-off one from Revolut. Beware, PIN or PUK codes will be sent to your email, PIN is 1111. If you have a compatible phone, set up VoLTE or VoWiFi and call under your number via Moldcell data, it works only with Vodafone CZ, O2 and TMOCZ deliberately block this function abroad.
For transport the Yandex Go app is really the best, when you register it verifies your credit card and deducts 22 lei from it, then gives it back to you. Again, you can use a one-time card. There's also the Hip.car app, I couldn't verify my phone number though, never got a text message with a code. Taxi price from the airport 155Kč in my case, to the airport it was 150Kč, watch out the app deducts the price for the ride at 2x.
As for Tiraspol - I was taken to Tiraspol by car and a guide was waiting for me. It takes about an hour to get from downtown Chisinau to the border, where it can take another hour depending on how many cars are there and how much they scrutinize. As far as the Marsutki, you have to remember that there are maybe 18 people in a car for 10 people (the case of the two people I had the guide with). They put a migration card in your passport, you have to present it on the way back and most importantly you have a time limit on when you have to leave Transnistria.
In Tiraspol you can exchange Euros and Dollars just fine, I exchanged it directly at Agroprombank, one member of the group wanted to buy a commemorative coin and they have these right in the bank just down the road from the Sheriff's office. Even in Tiraspol you can catch the Moldcell signal, it reaches here from Moldova, it's not everywhere but it's there.
Give yourself a reserve before departure because the airport is not fast at all, I waited about 40min in line through security, passport control another 30min, there is only one toilet in the arrivals hall, where some of the people from the departure lounge go, where you can't even get to the toilet slowly. I flew on the RMO <-> VIE flight.
So have a safe trip!
It's just as easy to buy an eSIM from Orange.
I failed to register with Orange, but I can't remember exactly why, although in my experience Orange has better rural coverage, so I was happy with Modcell, the app was definitely better to use.
I've bought Orange 2x and no problem. On the other hand, with Moldcell I got stuck on something, but I don't know what.
Airport centre now costs approx 110 MDL. Bus 6 MDL. Google maps advised an earlier bus departure than the departure timetables directly at the station. It did indeed arrive. I had a 7:40am departure on SUNDAY (I expect several of you will be expecting it now). 
Prices at DF Tiraspol Souvenirs. Buses on google maps are reliable, but 2 out of 10 times it went completely different from the center than it was supposed to. Necessary to monitor the location while driving!
Thanks, I've already got the 9:00 to 7:40 change too.
I recommend to buy a physical SIM outside in the vending machine in front of the airport (Moldcell), it costs 49 lei (it also takes cards). The kiosk inside the airport building is 100 lei.
Oh, and there is no post office or mailbox at the airport (anymore).
(you can buy stamps at the post office in the centre, but expect to wait a while there, like here :))