After Moldovan authorities failed to reach an agreement with their Israeli counterparts on the use of Chisinau International Airport by Jewish pilgrims traveling to Uman (Ukraine), pilgrims will predominantly land in eastern Romania and cross Moldova by road.
The International Airport in Iasi, which travelers from Moldova also often use, announced on September 12 that it will operate under special conditions between September 25 and 29 to handle several charter flights from Tel Aviv, Europa Libera reports.
“If your flight time from Iasi Airport overlaps with the schedule of these flights, we recommend arriving at the airport three hours before departure to avoid possible delays at security checkpoints,” the Romanian airport posted on Facebook. In recent years, the airport expanded and modernized its infrastructure, including the construction of a new terminal.
The airport also stated that authorities will create a special corridor for pilgrims and mobilize police and gendarmerie teams to manage the flow efficiently.
Officials in Bucharest’s Transport Ministry told Radio Free Europe that charter planes from Israel may also land at other airports in eastern Romania. Though at the time of publication, only Iasi Airport had confirmed such flights.
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From Romania, pilgrims will travel mostly by road through Moldova to reach Uman, located 200 km south of Kyiv. The Moldovan transport company Tip Trans, which we found online when searching “Iasi–Uman,” told Radio Free Europe that it can take hundreds of people to Ukraine by bus. Mr. Eugen from Tip Trans explained that the trip to Uman could take up to 10 hours, depending largely on congestion at the Ukrainian border crossing.
Like the journalists, Mr. Eugen only knew that Iasi Airport would handle charter flights. He added that if other airports, such as Bacau, were confirmed, his company would also transport pilgrims from there.
A more complicated pilgrimage
The annual pilgrimage to Uman for Rosh Hashanah has become more complicated since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine made civil flights over the country impossible. In 2023, thousands of pilgrims traveled through Chisinau Airport on both arrival and departure.
In 2024, Moldova stopped allowing this arrangement, citing an unpaid security debt from Israel and the fact that Chisinau Airport faced heavy traffic and could not handle such peak loads.
In 2025, Israeli authorities tried to revive the 2023 “air bridge,” but the talks failed. Israeli media reported that Chisinau requested up to $3 million for security measures and extended airport infrastructure, including a temporary terminal and a hangar equipped with Israeli security equipment. Chisinau wanted these structures to remain in place for future pilgrimages and for airport use in the meantime, as the facility struggles with heavy traffic.
The reports also noted that Israel requested about 120 flights, while Chisinau could accommodate only around 70.
Transport and politics
Governments on both sides avoided giving many details about the discussions or the reasons for the failure. An unnamed Moldovan official recently told The Times of Israel that the Israeli side delayed the procedures.
The Iasi route is longer than the Chisinau–Uman route, and the return journey is slightly more complicated because pilgrims must re-enter the Schengen Area. Some pilgrims will still travel through Chisinau Airport, but only via regular flights, not charter services.
Meanwhile, the cost of the pilgrimage has become a domestic political issue in Israel.
Before the war, during the pandemic in September 2020, pilgrims heading to Uman waited at the Belarus–Ukraine border when Kyiv banned foreigners from entering due to COVID-19.
Since the war began, the Israeli government has not encouraged the pilgrimage to Uman, but once it knows the faithful will travel, it facilitates the journey. Religious right-wing elements in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government particularly support these efforts.
Secular opposition and liberal media criticize the government’s support, accusing it of funding a “trip” for citizens who refuse military service. Israeli authorities, however, say they check passengers departing from Ben Gurion Airport to detect such cases.