Alright, let me walk you through my time at Avram Iancu International Airport in Cluj. It wasn’t anything too crazy, just the usual airport shuffle, but here’s how it went down for me.

So, I got myself to the airport. Finding the entrance was easy enough. Walked in, and the first thing was figuring out where my check-in desk was. You know how it is, scanning those big screens with all the flight numbers and destinations.
Finding the Check-in
Located my airline’s counter after a bit of looking around. There was a bit of a line, not too bad though. Waited my turn, maybe ten minutes or so. Got to the desk, handed over my passport and booking info. The person there was pretty efficient, weighed my bag, tagged it, and off it went on the belt. Got my boarding pass. Standard stuff, really. Felt good to get the big bag checked in.
Security Checkpoint
Next up was security. Headed towards that area. You could see the usual setup – trays, scanners, people taking stuff out of their bags. Joined the queue. When it was my turn, I did the routine: laptop out, liquids in the clear bag, belt off, pockets empty. Put everything in the trays and pushed them onto the roller thing. Walked through the metal detector. No beep. Good. Picked up my stuff on the other side, put my belt back on, packed my laptop away. It went smoothly enough, no dramas this time, which is always a plus.
Waiting in Departures
Once I was through security, I was in the main departure lounge. Had a look around.
- Checked the departure board again, just to see the gate number and boarding time. Still had a while.
- Walked past the duty-free shops. Glanced at the usual perfumes, booze, and chocolates. Didn’t really need anything.
- Found a place to sit near where I thought my gate would be. The seating areas were filling up a bit.
- Grabbed a coffee and a bottle of water from one of the cafes. Just sat there for a bit, watching people, checking my phone.
The atmosphere was typical airport vibes – people waiting, announcements being made, the low hum of conversations. It wasn’t overly crowded, felt reasonably managed.

Boarding Time
Eventually, the screen updated with the gate number, and soon after, they announced boarding for my flight. Headed over to the gate. Another queue formed pretty quickly. Got my boarding pass and passport checked one last time by the gate agent. Then walked down the airbridge, straight onto the plane. Found my seat, put my carry-on in the overhead bin, and settled in for the flight.
Overall, getting through Avram Iancu Cluj airport was pretty straightforward. Did all the necessary steps: check-in, security, wait, board. Nothing particularly stood out as amazing or terrible, it just worked. Got me from A to B, which is the main thing you want from an airport, right? Just another travel day ticked off.