Press Review - June 20, 2017

06.20.2017 By Oana Gavrila

Liberal Party Has New Leaders After Orban's Election as Party President

The Liberal Party's board elected a new leading team for the party, following the election of Ludovic Orban as party president.

The board appointed a secretary general, Robert Sighiartau, and new first vice-presidents: Ilie Bolojan, Raluca Turcan, Mircea Hava, and  Iulian Dumitrescu, all of whom backed Orban in the party election.

The Liberal Party's executive bureau will have to decide in its first meeting whether to back the no-confidence motion against the Grindeanu Cabinet, which will be put to the vote in Parliament Wednesday.

Bucharest Mayor Calls on PM to Resign

Bucharest general mayor Gabriela Firea on Monday called on prime minister Sorin Grindeanu “to do the honorable thing and resign”.

She said she is certain the no-confidence motion against his Cabinet will be adopted Wednesday.

Firea said she would have resigned if she were in his place and the party had pulled its support.

Blue Air Romania Could Buy at Least 20 Boeing 737 Max Aircrafts - Bloomberg

Romania’s Blue Air is in talks to buy Boeing’s 737 Max, the latest generation of the U.S. company’s biggest-selling model, with an announcement possible at the Paris Air Show next week, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.

The Bucharest-based airline is considering purchasing at least 20 planes, worth $1.84 billion at list prices. The order could be for as many as 50 aircraft, though it’s unclear how many of those may be options. Blue Air and Boeing declined to comment. 

The deal would roughly double Blue Air’s fleet, which consisted of 25 older-generation 737s as of the end of last year.

Otopeni Airport Requires Passengers to Arrive 3 Hours Before Flight

Romania's national airport company, which manages airports Otopeni and Baneasa, recommends passengers should arrive at the airport three hours before departure time.

“Considering significant growth in traffic during the summer season, when numerous chartered flights are included in the airport's schedule, we recommend that passengers arrive at the airport three hours before departure time,” the company said.

The recommendation applies particularly to passengers departing between 5:00 and  8:00 am.

In the first quarter of the year, the two airports had a total traffic of 2.6 million passengers.

Former CFR General Manager Mihai Necolaiciuc Stays in Prison

Former CFR General Manager Mihai Necolaiciuc, sentenced to eight years in prison for abuse of office, remains behind bars after the Constanta Court rejected his appeal.

The court upheld the previous court's ruling, which had denied Necolaiciuc's request for parole.

Necolaiciuc may submit a new request for parole in four months.

The former general manager of Romania's railway company received a definitive ruling in November 2016, sentencing him to eight years in prison for defrauding the company of around EUR57.7 million alongside other former company employees. The first court had sentenced him to ten years.