Joint Issue Romania - Republic of Moldova

Romfilatelia and the Romanian Post introduce into circulation on Wednesday, June 24th this year, the anniversary joint issue of postage stamps in partnership with the Republic of Moldova, to mark the Centenary of an event linked to the history of commercial aviation in Romania.

Under the title 100 YEARS SINCE THE INAUGURATION OF THE FIRST BUCHAREST – GALAȚI – CHIȘINĂU AIRMAIL SERVICE the issue consists of two postage stamps, a perforated souvenir sheet and a First Day Cover.

Present at the Trianon Peace Conference in 1920, diplomat Nicolae Titulescu declared: ‘Aviation, a territorial weapon of war, must become an instrument of peace.’ Romania responded to this valuable proposal by establishing, on April 21st, 1920, the world’s first transcontinental airline for the regular transport of passengers, cargo, and mail, the Franco-Romanian Air Navigation Company(CFRNA).

It is worth noting that Nicolae Titulescu had been discussing the establishment of a postal transport company with France’s authorized representative as early as 1910. CFRNA’s flight schedule included the Paris – Constantinople route, with scheduled stopovers in Strasbourg, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Arad, Belgrade, and Bucharest.

After five years, CFRNA was dissolved and replaced by CIDNA (International Air Navigation Company) on January 1st, 1926.

It should be noted that, in 1925, the city of Galați was designated as Romania’s first domestic destination. An experiment was conducted over a period of 62 days to assess the profitability of flights between Bucharest and Galați, using French-build POTEZ XV aircraft, which were later also manufactured at IAR-Brașov.

On September 15th, 1925, a POTEZ XV aircraft carried, together with several officers travelling from Bucharest, postal correspondence that had been handed over
in Chișinău at the postal counter set up within the grounds of the General Exhibition of Bessarabia (August 15th - September 30th, 1925). A first promotional postmark was used, applied with a ‘manual roller stamp’ (the text of the postmark was imprinted on a rubber roller).

On June 24th, 1926, domestic air traffic on the Bucharest – Galați – Chișinău route was officially inaugurated in the presence of King Ferdinand, the royal family, and the diplomatic corps.

‘Havilland DH 9’ aircraft manufactured in the United Kingdom were used. The Paris Mint celebrated the event by striking a silver-plated bronze medal. The inclusion of an envelope in the embossed design highlights the importance of the inauguration of the Bucharest – Galați – Chișinău route for postal transport services

The organisation and operation of postal mail transport under modernised conditions were further developed on September 1st, 1928 with the introduction of the Bucharest – Galați – Chișinău – Cernăuți route, on which occasion the General Directorate of Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones (PTT) issued the first postage stamps bearing the inscription Poșta Aeriană (Airmail), known among philatelists as the ‘C. Raiu’ issue, which is regarded as the beginning of Romanian aerophilately.

The postage stamps of the issue reproduce images of the transport aircraft, a correspondence envelope and the illustrated flight route, together with explanatory texts relating to the centennial event (face value of Lei 5.50, graphic concept of “Poșta Moldovei”), as well as a depiction of the ‘Havilland DH 9’ aircraft flying over above a viaduct over a landscape of Moldova, en route to Galați (face value of Lei 16, Romfilatelia concept).

The philatelic souvenir sheet brings together images of passengers at Galați Airport, a facsimile of an envelope bearing the Bucharest and Chișinău postmarks from the day of the inaugural flight (June 24th, 1926), and labels certifying the carriage of mail by air. The postage stamp with the face value of Lei 32 of the souvenir sheet reproduces the image of the ‘Havilland DH 9’ aircraft. All components of the issue feature the Romanian tricolour and explanatory text relating to the event.

The First Day Cover features a graphic composition in which the mail aircraft is depicted alongside the anniversary replica of the medal issued in 1926, the tricolour, and a background suggested by the map of Romania. The postmark bears the text CENTENARY on the outline.

Romfilatelia thanks S.E. “Poșta Moldovei”, the ‘Bartoc’ Cultural Foundation, and Mr. Francisc Ambruș, collector, for the collaboration in the development of this joint stamp issue.