Sofia Airport

Sofia International Airport

Летище София

Letishte Sofiya
Sofia International Airport; Летище София; Letishte Sofiya
	File:Logo Sofia Airport.gif
	IATA: SOF; ICAO: LBSF Sofia AirportLocation of airport in Bulgaria;
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Sofia Airport EAD
Location	Sofia
Hub for	Bulgaria Air; BH Air; Wizz Air;
Elevation AMSL	1,742 ft / 531 m
Coordinates	42°41′42″N 023°24′30″E / 42.69500°N 23.40833°E
Website	www.sofia-airport.bg
Runways
	Source: Bulgarian AIP at EUROCONTROL

Sofia Airport (IATA: SOF, ICAO: LBSF) (Template:Lang-bg) is the main airport in Sofia, Bulgaria. Located 5 km (3.1 mi) east^[1] of central Sofia. In 2009 the number of passengers was 3.13 million.^[2]

History

The airport was initially built in the late 1930s on a site 6.3 km (3.9 mi) (7.5 km (4.7 mi) by road then; later 9 km (5.6 mi) by road and today 10.2 km (6.3 mi) and up to 11.4 km (7.1 mi)) distant from the geographical centre of Sofia as a replacement of that city's small civil airport at Bozhurishte. Sofia then had under 250,000 inhabitants. The airport continues to serve the same city, which in 2006 passed the two million inhabitant mark.

During the Second World War, the facilities were used by the military. Mail, perishable freight and passenger operations began in 1947 from buildings on the north side of the airport. The passenger terminal (now Terminal 1) on the south side of the airport was completed during the Second World War in the manner of a then-modern European railway terminus to designs by the architect Ivan Marangozov. It opened after several years of delay in 1947. The structure comprised a government wing to the west, an international handling area in the middle, and a domestic handling area to the east. At that time, it was planned that the airport would eventually have two intersecting runways orientated at a 30-degree angle to each other.

The terminal had substantially reached its capacity of some 600,000 passengers a year by the later 1960s and was subjected to a number of refurbishments and extensions beginning in the spring of 1968. In 1975, a new international arrivals handling extension was opened to the west of the building, the domestic area to the east was enlarged, the government handling area was removed to a dedicated terminal some distance to the west, a VIP handling area opened in the old terminal, , apron area was extended to the east and new taxiways opened. A bonded warehouse opened to the east of the terminal square in 1969 and several new hangars followed to the east of the first maintenance base in the 1970s. A new checked baggage handling system opened to the north of the building in the early 1980s, cosmetic and traffic reorganising refurbishments were carried out in 1990, with a substantial landside extension following in 2000.

By the late 1970s, the terminal was handling in the region of three million passengers a year, a million of them on domestic routes. Passenger numbers fell off sharply after the 1979 CMEA ("Comecon") oil price shock and recovered to just over a million a year by the late 1980s. In the early and mid-1990s, domestic traffic practically ceased, while foreign traffic reduced significantly. The latter began growing apace in the late 1990s and early 2000s to reach its current levels. The terminal was last refurbished partially in 1990. In 2000 it underwent a wholesale update in which the international arrivals area was moved to the east wing where domestic handling had been, the former international arrivals area to the west was closed, and the layout of the central international departures area was changed in line with world developments. Despite the works to the old terminal, the airport was becoming overwhelmed with passenger traffic.

Options for different airport developments began to be examined in the mid-1960s. One option was to relocate the facility to a new site, with some locations up to 70 km (43 mi) from Sofia). Another option involved extending the airport's area radically to the north-east and gradually removing the focus of the airport there. A third option was to develop substantially the same site. By the later 1980s the authorities had settled on the last option. Project design, involving a new terminal to the east of the old facility, a new runway to the north of (and parallel to) the existing runway, and taxiways, was completed by the mid-1990s. A finance package involving very significant European and Kuwaiti investment was initially agreed in 1998 and was in place by 2000. Works began in 2001. The new runway and some taxiways were completed in mid-2006. Terminal 2 was formally inaugurated on 27 December 2006.

Design and construction of a new control tower was mooted in 2006 but this project appeared to be in abeyance by 2008. Over the years, Sofia Airport has been criticised for its lack of world class air freight facilities and for some access problems. Passengers to and from the Bulgarian interior have to access or egress the airport through crowded rail and coach facilities in central Sofia. A rail link has been mooted on several occasions since the 1960s but no moves have been documented to its implementation. The airport is occasionally criticised as a source of environmental noise and pollution and strict noise abatement procedures have been enforced for departing traffic since the mid-1970s, while arriving traffic is generally routed to approach the field from the east, clear of Sofia.

A significant and recurring operational criticism of Sofia Airport has concerned its historical lack of all-weather operations capability. Though the new runway was designed for ICAO Category 3 operations, in 2007 it emerged that radio interference from security fencing, and most significantly from a large newly-built lorry park, prevented certification (and hence use) of the associated radio navigational aids. During the winter months, the airport, located on a high alluvial plain surrounded by mountains, suffers from very significant and frequent fog precipitation. In such circumstances, flights are redirected to diversion airports in Bulgaria or neighbouring countries, lengthening journeys by many hours.

Airport reconstruction

According to the plan a new Sofia Airport terminal was built to the east of the current terminal, and a second runway was constructed alongside the existing one. The existing runway has been turned into a taxiway parallel to the newly constructed runway. Both cross the Iskar river. The new runway was opened in August 2006, while the new terminal opened in December 2006.

Total cost of the project was planned at 200 million euros. Finance was secured in 1997-98 from the European Investment Bank (60 million euro), Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (12.3 million Kuwaiti dinars, approx. 41.5 million euro), and the European Union PHARE Programme (7.6 million euro). In August 2000 an ISPA grant of 50 million euro was allocated and in December the Financing Memorandum was signed.

The construction works were in two lots: the new terminal with its surrounding infrastructure, and the new runway. The first lot was allocated to the German branch of Austrian company Strabag^[3], while the second lot was won by a consortium of Kuwaiti company Mohamed Abdulmohsin al-Kharafi & Sons and UAE-based Admak General Contracting Company.

Delays to terminal construction

The initial completion deadline for the new terminal was 15 December 2004 to a total budget of 112.2 million euro. Immediately after works started, Strabag contested the geological surveys by Dutch consutants NACO B.V. and demanded additional funding for unexpected additional works. The delay was ten months, and construction resumed after the Bulgarian government agreed to augment the project's value by 4.8 million euro and extend the deadline to 31 August 2005.^[4]

In 2004 Strabag demanded an additional 6 million euro due to rising steel prices ^[5]. The Ministry of Transportation rejected the claim, backed by a report from NACO. In May 2005 the contractor threatened to take the case to international arbitration.^[6] In August 2005, it became clear that Strabag would not be able to meet the changed deadline, slippage being put at six to eight weeks ^[7]. In November 2005 Strabag asked for eight months' further extension.^[8]

Runway System

On 31 August 2006, Sofia Airport set its new runway system to operation, replacing the old and out-of-date facilities. The new runway is offset at 210 m (690 ft) to the north of the old runway, with the eastern end of its 3,600 m (11,811 ft) long strip crossing over the Iskar river bed on a specially constructed bridge. New rapid and connecting taxiways are built additionally to open way for 200 aircraft movements per hour at a high level of safety. The navigational aids installed on the new runway enable landing operations under low visibility conditions at category III of the ICAO standards.

Two de-icing platforms are constructed to allow centralised de-icing procedures in winter, They are just an element of the overall strategy of Sofia Airport for environmental protection and reduction of the harmful effects resulting from the airport operations.

Lufthansa Technik-Sofia

Lufthansa Technik Sofia was founded in late 2007 as a joint venture between Lufthansa Technik (80%) and the Bulgarian Aviation Group (20%). With the foundation of Lufthansa Technik Sofia, the Lufthansa Technik Group has created a fifth platform for the overhaul and maintenance of narrowbody aircraft in Europe. The Bulgarian facility serves customers in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The facility has undergone a major reconstruction and upgrading, with the target to be ready for the heaviest stage of Aircraft maintenance checks D-Check, that will be carried out in Bulgaria. Meanwhile the more than 350 staff trained in Bulgaria and at Lufthansa Technik facilities in Shannon Base Maintenance operations have started in the fourth quarter of 2008 with one Airbus A321 from Lufthansa as the first customer.^[9]

The New Control Tower

The director of RVD (Administration of Air Traffic) Emanuil Radev announced that the new control tower of Sofia airport must be ready by 2010 or at latest 2011.

On August 4 a jury of 15 members has chosen a project for the flight tower at an open anonymous competition. First place takes the project of "Arhitektonika studio" OOD which will receive the sum of 20,000 levs.

The choice of consultant and executors is forthcoming. The contract with the consultant is expected to be signed by the end of August. The executors must selected by the beginning of 2009.

The engineering execution of the project will cost 177,000 levs, while the construction, according to preliminary calculations - at least 5-6 million levs. Taxes for the aero-navigational service are expected to decrease by 4-4,5 percent, the director of RVD informs.

The process will continue stage by stage till 2011 and is run according to the partner agreement for cooperation with National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA). The agreement in question is conducted on free will and Bulgaria is the third country that is conducting such an agreement.

One of the goals is to unburden the plight of the transporters, after the drastic increase of the price of fuels.

Terminals

Terminal 1

This terminal, which is well known to the inbound/ outbound passengers in Sofia, now has a new name - Terminal 1. It was built in the first half of the 20th century and opened on 16 September 1937. It has been extended and improved many times, fundamentally renovated in 2000, still making, though, curious allusions to the latest history of the continent. Terminal 1 offers easy access, simple procedures and efficient services up to the modern airport standard.

Terminal 2

The new Terminal 2 was officially opened on 27 December 2006 with the symbolic arrival of Bulgaria Air flight FB 408 from Brussels. It was one of the biggest projects in Bulgaria to receive funds from the EU ISPA programme. The price includes the new terminal, new aircraft parking aprons, upgrading the existing aircraft parking aprons and the construction of connecting taxiways. The terminal has 7 air-bridges (gates A1, B5-9 and C1), 38 check-in desks and covers an area of 50,000 sq m and has a car park for 820 vehicles.

The new terminal is located to the east of Terminal 1 and is significantly bigger than the old one which continues to serve low-cost and charter airlines.

The new passenger terminal building is designed with a capacity of 2,000 peak hour passengers or up to 2.6 million passengers a year, plus 26,000 tonnes of luggage. For the first time in Bulgaria, a terminal has airbridge-equipped gates instead of relying on airside busses.

The new Sofia Airport Centre, a premiere corporate office, hospitality and logistics centre in Bulgaria is being constructed in the vicinity.

The infrastructure surrounding the building was expected to be completed in 2007. It includes a new dual carriageway road connecting the terminal to the existing airport road, and landscaping including an artificial lake and a fountain.The airlines ticketing offices, tourist and car hire desks, banks, post office, and cafeterias in Terminal 2 are located in the public area. The travel retail shops, Bulgarian wine and spirits shop and Business lounges are located airside beyond the area of border control. Terminal 2 is designed with special attention to disabled passengers. Their access to the different terminal levels and the multi-storey car park is facilitated via lifts and escalators.^[10]

Airlines and destinations

Scheduled flights

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal
Aeroflot	Moscow-Sheremetyevo	2
Aerosvit Airlines	Kiev-Boryspil	2
Aerosvit Airlines operated by Dniproavia	Kiev-Boryspil	2
Air France	Paris-Charles de Gaulle	2
Air Malta	Malta-Luqa	2
Alitalia	Rome-Fiumicino	2
Austrian Airlines	Vienna	2
Austrian operated by Tyrolean Airways	Vienna	2
British Airways	London-Heathrow	2
Bulgaria Air	Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Beirut, Berlin-Tegel, Brussels, Burgas, Frankfurt, Larnaca, London-Heathrow, Madrid, Málaga, Milan-Malpensa, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Rome-Fiumicino, Skopje [seasonal], Tirana [seasonal], Tel Aviv, Tripoli, Varna, Vienna, Zürich	2
Cimber Sterling	Copenhagen	1
Cyprus Airways	Larnaca	2
Czech Airlines	Prague	2
EasyJet	London-Gatwick, Madrid, Manchester, Milan-Malpensa [ends 30 October]	1
El Al	Tel Aviv	2
Germanwings	Cologne/Bonn	1
LOT Polish Airlines	Warsaw	2
Lufthansa	Frankfurt, Munich	2
Lufthansa Regional operated by Augsburg Airways	Munich	2
Lufthansa Regional operated by Eurowings	Düsseldorf	2
Malév Hungarian Airlines	Budapest	2
Niki	Vienna	2
Olympic Air	Athens	2
Pegasus Airlines	Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen [begins 1 September] ^[11]	1
Swiss International Air Lines	Zürich	2
TAROM	Bucharest-Henri Coandă	2
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul-Atatürk	2
Wizz Air	Barcelona, Brussels South-Charleroi, Dortmund, Eindhoven, Forlì, Hahn, London-Luton, Madrid, Milan-Orio al Serio, Paris-Beauvais, Rome-Fiumicino, Valencia, Venice-Treviso	1
Wizz Air Bulgaria	Varna [ends 29 October]	1

Charter flights

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal
BH Air	Antalya, Aqaba, Belfast-International, Birmingham, Bristol, Cairo, Cardiff, Copenhagen, Casablanca, Dubai, Dubrovnik, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Hurghada, Humberside, Izmir, Leeds Bradford, London-Gatwick, Malta, Manchester, Marrakech, Monastir, Newcastle, Phuket, Sharm-el Sheikh, Tel Aviv	1
Bulgaria Air	Alicante, Antalya, Belfast-International, Cairo, Dubai, Hurghada, Katowice, Kiev-Boryspil, Malta, Sharm el-Sheikh, St Petersburg, Tenerife-South	2
Bulgarian Air Charter	Cairo, Funchal, Hurghada, Lisbon, Málaga, Monastir	1
Donbassaero	Odessa	1
Monarch Airlines	London-Gatwick, Manchester	2
Nouvelair	Monastir	1
Pegasus Airlines	Antalya, Bodrum	1
Rossiya	St Petersburg	2
Sky Airlines	Antalya	1
Thomson Airways	Birmingham, Bristol, London-Gatwick, Manchester	2
Thomas Cook Airlines	London-Gatwick, Manchester	2

Cargo airlines

Airlines	Destinations
DHL Express	Leipzig/Halle
TNT Airways	Liège
UPS Airlines operated by Farnair Switzerland	Basel/Mulhouse

Traffic figures

**Traffic at Sofia Airport**
Year	Passengers	Change	Cargo (tonnes)	Change	Aircraft movements	Change
1998	1,250,000
1999	1,230,000	1.6%
2000	1,127,400	8.3%	11,004		24,785
2001	1,107,682	1.7%	10,380	5.7%	21,860	11.8%
2002	1,214,137	9.6%	12,480	20.2%	24,212	10.8%
2003	1,356,569	11.7%	13,754	10.2%	25,518	5.4%
2004	1,614,139	19%	14,468	5.2%	28,700	12.5%
2005	1,874,368	16.1%	14,724	1.8%	32,184	12.1%
2006	2,209,348	17.9%	15,244	3.5%	38,123	18.5%
2007	2,746,178	24.3%	17,388	14.1%	43,075	13%
2008	3,230,696	17.6%	18,647	7.2%	48,626	12.9%
2009^[2]	3,134,104	3.0%	15,120	18.9%	45,698	6%
2010	495 760 (01-02.2010)	0.04%	2 183 (01-02.2010)	8%	7 118 (01-02.2010)	1.7%

Transport links

Bus

Two bus routes (No 84 and 284) connect the airport to the Sofia University area of Sofia city centre^[12].

Shuttle bus

A small shuttle bus (No 30) connects the two terminals with the city centre and Sofia's biggest residential area of Lyulin^[13].

Taxi

Taxis are available at the landside of the arrivals areas of Terminals 1 and 2. OK Supertrans is the official taxi provider to Sofia airport.

Metro

An extension of the Sofia Metro Line 1 is planned to reach the airport in 2014. Construction start is planned for 2011.

Incidents and accidents

On December 22nd, 1971, a Balkan Airlines Il-18, crashed en route to Algeria. All 28 people on board died.
On 10 January 1984, a Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Tupolev Tu-134 crashed on approach in bad weather. All 50 people on board died.
On 2 August 1988, a Balkan Airlines Yak-40, crashed in Iskar river. There were 28 fatalities from 37 passengers on board.