Romania replaces TAROM CEO over disputed budget, appoints interim director

Interim Transport Minister Radu Miruță accused outgoing TAROM chief executive Bogdan Costaș of presenting an unrealistic 2026 budget and blocking the European‑Commission‑approved restructuring plan. Citing inflated revenue forecasts, understated fuel costs (quoted at $950 per tonne versus the actual $1,500) and overstated aircraft load factors, the Board of Directors revoked Costaș’ mandate and named senior operations manager Cristian Anghel as interim director. The revocation followed a union demand that the Board itself be dismissed for chronic managerial instability – the airline has had seventeen CEOs in ten years, with four directors in less than three years, and board members reportedly received doubled salaries of 24,148 lei per month during austerity. The union also highlighted an unlawful €900,000 annual rent paid for land beneath TAROM’s hangar. Costaș later claimed he had opened talks with the European Commission and submitted a restructuring proposal, but the minister said the executive ignored the request for a realistic budget. The episode unfolded while Miruță was photographed on a Turkish beach, drawing further public scrutiny of the ministry’s handling of the state carrier.