In reply to redsonja:
I used to fly to Bucharest a lot in the early 70s. After landing and taxiing to the terminal, the plane would be surrounded by a detachment of soldiers with semis (guns). I wasn't stopping there; all BEA flights to Bulgaria used to fly to Bucharest first, as demand for Sofia/Bucharest alone was insufficient. So you'd get out, go past these soldiers, sit in Transit for an hour or so, then have to file past them again on the way back. The airport was a drab and depressing place, even by the standards of the time. Sofia wasn't much better, but there were no soldiers.