Airport expansion in Bucharest: ThyssenKrupp Elevator installs Romania’s longest moving walks

ThyssenKrupp Elevator is one of the major project partners for the expansion and modernization of the airport in Romania’s capital city Bucharest. As well as 13 elevators and 18 escalators, the company is manufacturing and installing four moving walks for horizontal passenger transportation. Two of these units stand out particularly: At 74.85 and 61.80 meters respectively they are the longest moving walks in the country. During the project ThyssenKrupp Elevator became the first company in Romania to be awarded a license for the installation and maintenance of escalators and moving walks. This license has been required since a change in the law in October 2010 and is issued by the state inspectorate ISCIR.

In terms of technology, design and efficiency, the passenger transportation systems are state-of-the-art: For example, all the escalators and moving walks are equipped with the eco-friendly energy saving system “variable speed”. When there are no passengers on the units, they slow down automatically. When a passenger passes through a light barrier they accelerate back to normal speed. Depending on passenger volumes this can save up to 60 percent energy. Among others, energy saving is one of the major aims of ThyssenKrupp Elevator’s global “sustainable efficiency” program.

The expansion and modernization of Henri Coanda International Airport is one of Romania’s biggest construction projects. The building of a new terminal will double handling capacity to over 2,000 passengers per hour. At the same time various modernization measures are being carried out to meet the criteria for Romania to join the Schengen Area – and thus eliminate passport controls for travel within the EU.