Civil aviation plays a vital role in the economic development of Moldova by providing fast and efficient access to different destinations. The most important economic contribution of air transport in Moldova is through its impact on the performance of other industries as a facilitator of their growth.

Development of air transport in Moldova creates the following main benefits:  

1. Social Benefits
   - Improvement of quality of life by broadening people’s leisure and cultural experiences;
   - Maintenance of relationships between people living and working abroad and their relatives living in Moldova;
   - Improvement of living standards and alleviation of poverty
   - Contributions to sustainable development by facilitating tourism and trade.
   
   
2. Economic Benefits
   - Trade facilitation through improved access to the main markets and by enabling globalization of production and trade;
   - Improvement of efficiency of the supply chain and increase of the export potential through the development of an effective transportation network and just-in-time deliveries reducing the transportation time and costs
   - Development of tourism through increased availability of travel connections, efficient airline services and reduced travel time and costs;
   - Strengthening of the country’s attractiveness and investment climate by encouraging effective networking and development of cooperation between local and international companies.
   

3. Historical Development of Civil Aviation in Moldova

The history of the Moldovan civil aviation begins in 1944 when the first independent aviation squadron was established. In 1960, the first airport in Chisinau was founded. In 1970, the new passenger terminal expanded the capacity of the airport. In 1987, the number of passengers in Chisinau Airport reached a value of almost 1 million.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union the Moldovan civil aviation sector underwent a restructuring phase. The Department of Air Transportation was established under the authority of the Ministry of Transport. In 1993, the department was reorganized into the State Administration of Civil Aviation. The state airline company was divided into a number of separate enterprises, one of which became Air Moldova. The first official international route Chisinau-Frankfurt was established in 1990.