Varna Airport
Varna Airport | |||||||||||
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| File:Varna airport logo.png | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Fraport Twin Star Airport Managament | ||||||||||
| Location | Varna | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 70 m / 230 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 43°13′55″N 27°49′30″E / 43.23194°N 27.82500°E | ||||||||||
| Website | www.varna-airport.com | ||||||||||
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Varna Airport (Bulgarian: Летище Варна, Letishte Varna) (IATA: VAR, ICAO: LBWN) is the airport of Varna, the historical maritime capital of Bulgaria.
In 2008, the airport handled 1,432,703 passengers and 15,129 aircraft movements[1]. In 2009, it handled 1,220,181 passengers and 12,699 aircraft movements, a respective 15.6% and 15.2% decrease compared to 2008.[1]
History
The history of the airport dates back to 1916 when two sheds for the first hydro-port in Bulgaria were built in the Peinerdzhik area (present-day Chaika residential area). Irregular mail-plane service from Sofia to Varna was held between 1919 and 1920 and it was not until 1947 that a permanent airline between the two cities was established. What had grown into Tihina Airport was situated west of the present-day Asparukhovo Bridge and was indeed quite primitive for the demands of a modern city. Thus in 1946 a decision was made and a new airport was constructed several kilometres west of the city, near the village (now town) of Aksakovo, with local people enthusiastically working on the site together with the constructors. Construction and improvement continued throughout the years, with a new terminal erected in 1972 and a new runway in 1974.
Description
There are domestic and international flights to about 70 destinations in 25 countries, more than 100 Bulgarian and foreign airlines. The airport is connected to the Port of Varna and the railway system. The airport has one main concrete pavement runway 09/27 and a parking apron for 24 aircraft.
Future plans and expansion
Currently, Varna Airport is subject to heavy traffic with the growing tourism industry in Bulgaria and is in need of major investments to modernize, expand and handle projected passenger traffic. In June, 2006 the Bulgarian Government awarded Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide a 35 year long concession on both Varna and Burgas airports in return for investments exceeding €500 million, including a new passenger terminal by 2008.
Airlines and destinations
Scheduled airlines
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air Berlin | Düsseldorf [seasonal] |
| Air Moldova | Chişinău [seasonal] |
| Austrian Airlines operated by Tyrolean Airways | Vienna |
| British Airways | London-Gatwick [seasonal] |
| Bulgaria Air | Burgas, London-Gatwick, Novosibirsk [seasonal], Sofia, Tel Aviv, Vienna |
| Luxair | Luxembourg [seasonal] |
| Malév Hungarian Airlines | Budapest |
| Norwegian Air Shuttle | Oslo-Gardermoen, Warsaw [seasonal] |
| S7 Airlines | Moscow-Domodedovo |
| South Airlines | Odessa [seasonal] |
| Wizz Air | London-Luton |
| Wizz Air Bulgaria | Sofia [ends 29 October] |
Charter airlines
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| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air VIA | Berlin-Schönefeld, Berlin-Tegel, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Leipzig/Halle, Nürnberg, Stuttgart, Tallinn |
| Aerosvit Airlines | Kiev-Boryspil |
| Air Méditerranée | Paris-Charles de Gaulle |
| Arkefly | Amsterdam |
| BH Air | Birmingham, Bristol, London-Gatwick, Manchester, Tel Aviv |
| Bulgarian Air Charter | Aarhus, Basel/Mulhouse, Belfast-International, Berlin-Schönefeld, Berlin-Tegel, Billund, Bornholm, Bratislava, Bremen, Brno, Brussels, Cologne/Bonn, Copenhagen, Debrecen, Dortmund, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Erfurt, Frankfurt, Friedrichshafen, Hahn, Hamburg, Hanover, Kosice, Leipzig, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Münster/Osnabrück, Munich, Nantes, Nuremberg, Ostrava, Paderborn/Lippstadt, Pardubice, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Poprad, Prague, Rostock, Stuttgart, Tel Aviv, Vienna, Warsaw |
| Euroline | Kutaisi |
| FlyLAL Charters | Vilnius |
| Jet2.com | London-Stansted |
| Jetairfly | Brussels |
| Kish Air | Tehran-Mehrabad |
| Middle East Airlines | Beirut |
| Novair | Stockholm-Arlanda |
| Rossiya | St. Petersburg |
| Sky Airlines | Antalya |
| Thomas Cook Airlines | Birmingham, Bristol, London-Gatwick, Manchester |
| Thomas Cook Airlines (Belgium) | Brussels |
| Transaero | Moscow-Domodedovo |