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Varna Airport

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Varna Airport

Летище Варна
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorFraport Twin Star Airport Management
ServesVarna, Bulgaria
LocationVarna, Bulgaria
Hub for
1
Elevation AMSL70 m / 230 ft
Websitewww.varna-airport.com
Map
VAR is located in Bulgaria
VAR
VAR
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
09/27 2,517 8,258 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passengers1,398,694 Increase

Varna Airport (Bulgarian: Летище Варна, Letishte Varna) (IATA: VAR, ICAO: LBWN) is the airport of Varna, the historical maritime capital of Bulgaria. Varna Airport is the third largest airport in Bulgaria and an important destination during the summer leisure seasons. The airport is located 10 kilometers from the center of Varna near the town of Aksakovo. The airport serves Varna and northeastern Bulgaria.

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 Asparuhov 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 built in 1972 and a new runway in 1974.

In 2013 a new passenger terminal opened and the one constructed in the 20th century was closed down.

There are domestic and international flights form Varna to about 70 destinations in 25 countries, with Bulgarian and foreign airlines. The airport is close to the Port of Varna and the railway system. The airport has one asphalt-covered runway 09/27 with ILS CAT I system on 09 edge and a parking apron for 24 aircraft.

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.

From 15 October 2011 until 28 February 2012, Varna airport was closed for a reconstruction of the runway. All flights were operated to/from Burgas Airport.[1]

In 2014 the airport handled 1,387,494 passengers - a 5.2% increase compared to 2013.

Terminals

Terminal 2 gate area

The airport has three terminals: Terminal 1, built in 1972 (closed), and Terminal 3 (opened in June 2007), which was used during the summer season and the new Terminal 2, opened in August 2013.

Terminal 1

Terminal 1 /closed/ has been extended several times over the years. The departures area had 21 check-in counters and six security checkpoints. In the terminal there were various outlets: cafes, fast food restaurants, currency exchange, and duty-free shops. There were ten boarding gates. The arrivals area had two luggage belts, as well as currency exchange and a tax-free shop. Terminal 1 still has a VIP room and business lounge. In 2010 the VIP room at Varna Airport was renovated. As of 2014, all flights, including no-frills, are managed by Terminal 2. Hence, the old terminal is closed except the VIP area.

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 started operations as of 18 August 2013. In December 2011 the construction work on new Terminal 2 began. T2 has a capacity of 1,800,000 passengers per year and 25 check-in desks. It covers an area of 18,000 m2. T2 buildings are designed so that their capacity could be further increased as an extension to the existing architectural part. The first passenger service on T2 was a domestic flight to Sofia operated by the national carrier Bulgaria Air and first international passengers served were from Minsk with flight of Belavia. T2 was designed by London-based architecture firm Pascall+Watson. Passengers can enjoy a large variety of retail outlets including a Bulgarian souvenir shop. Popular chains such as McDonald's, Costa Coffee and beer outlet are available at the gate area right after check-in.

Airlines and destinations

BH Air Airbus A320 at Varna Airport
Bulgarian Air Charter McDonnell Douglas MD-82 LZ-LDP at Varna Airport.

There are domestic and international flights to about 75 destinations in 29 countries, more than 65 Bulgarian and foreign airlines. The busiest season for the airport is from the end of May to the beginning of October.

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Aeroflot
operated by Rossiya Airlines		 Seasonal: Moscow-Vnukovo, Saint Petersburg
Air Serbia Seasonal: Belgrade[2]
Austrian Airlines Vienna[3]
BH Air Seasonal: Glasgow,[4] London-Gatwick, Manchester, Zürich
Bulgaria Air Burgas, Sofia
Seasonal: Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Saint Petersburg, Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion,[5]
Edelweiss Air Seasonal: Zürich[6]
Eurowings Seasonal: Düsseldorf[7]
Finnair Seasonal: Helsinki [8]
GermaniaSeasonal: Bremen,[9] Friedrichshafen, Münster/Osnabrück, Rostock[10]
Germania Flug Seasonal: Zürich
Israir Airlines Seasonal: Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion
Jetairfly Seasonal: Brussels, Ostend/Bruges
Luxair Seasonal: Luxembourg
Norwegian Air Shuttle Seasonal: Oslo-Gardermoen
S7 Airlines Moscow-Domodedovo
SmartWings
operated by Travel Service[11]		Seasonal: Brno,[12] Prague[13]
SunExpress Deutschland Seasonal: Cologne/Bonn,[14] Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover,[15] Leipzig/Halle, Munich, Nuremberg, Paderborn/Lippstadt,[16] Stuttgart,[17] Vienna[18]
Taban Air Seasonal: Tehran-Imam Khomeini
Thomas Cook Airlines Seasonal: Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne
Turkish Airlines Istanbul-Atatürk
Ural Airlines Seasonal: Yekaterinburg[19]
Wizz Air London-Luton
Seasonal: Budapest (resumes 3 August 2016) [20]

Charter flights

This list includes airlines and destinations which will be operated chartered flights to and from Varna airport for summer season 2016.

AirlinesDestinations
Air VIA Seasonal: Berlin-Schonefeld, Berlin-Tegel, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Erfurt/Weimar, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Leipzig/Halle, Nuremberg, Stuttgart
ALK Airlines Seasonal: Beirut
Azur Air Seasonal: Moscow-Domodedovo, Saint Petersburg
Belavia Seasonal: Minsk-National
BH Air Seasonal: Kuwait
BRA Seasonal: Aalborg, Billund, Odense
Bravo Airways Seasonal: Kiev-Zhuliany
Bul Air Seasonal: Heraklion, Kuwait, Tehran-Imam Khomeini, Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion
Bulgaria Air Seasonal: Beirut, Berlin-Tegel, Hamburg, Kaliningrad, Kuwait, Vienna, Yerevan
Bulgarian Air Charter Seasonal: Beirut, Berlin-Schonefeld, Berlin-Tegel, Bratislava, Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Katowice, Košice, Leipzig/Halle, Munich, Munster/Osnabruck, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion, Vienna, Warsaw-Chopin, Wroclaw, Yerevan
Condor Seasonal: Munich
Enter Air Seasonal: Gdańsk, Katowice, Kraków, Poznań, Warsaw-Chopin, Wroclaw
Germania Seasonal: Düsseldorf, Frankfurt
Germanwings Seasonal: Berlin-Tegel, Sttutgart
Iran Aseman Airlines Seasona: Tehran-Imam Khomeini
Lufthansa Seasonal: Munich
Mahan Air Seasonal: Tehran-Imam Khomeini
Meraj Airlines Seasonal: Tehran-Imam Khomeini
NordStar Seasonal: Moscow-Domodedovo, Saint Petersburg
Nordwind Airlines Seasonal: Moscow-Sheremetyevo
Norwegian Air Shuttle Seasonal: Copenhagen
Primera Air Seasonal: Billund, Copenhagen
Qeshm Airlines Seasonal: Tehran-Imam Khomeini
Scandinavian Airlines Seasonal: Aalborg, Billund, Copenhagen
Small Planet Airlines Seasonal: Vilnius
Small Planet Airlines Poland Seasonal: Gdańsk, Katowice, Poznań, Warsaw-Chopin
SmartLynx Airlines Seasonal: Riga
Smartlynx Airlines Estonia Seasonal: Tallinn
Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium Seasonal: Brussels
Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia Seasonal: Bodø, Copenhagen, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Helsinki, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stavanger, Stockholm-Arlanda, Trondheim
Transavia France Seasonal: Paris-Orly
Travel Service Seasonal: Lille, Prague[6]
Travel Service Poland Seasonal: Katowice, Poznań, Warsaw-Chopin
VIM Airlines Seasonal: Saint Petersburg
Yamal Airlines Seasonal: Moscow-Domodedovo

Traffic figures

Traffic at Varna Airport
Ground handling of a Thomas Cook Boeing 767-300 at Varna Airport
Service
Varna Airport Passenger Traffic Statistics
Year Domestic Change International Change Total Change
1998 35,208 238,470 273,678
1999 57,955 Increase 64.6% 453,864 Increase 90.3% 511,819 Increase 87%
2000 67,508 Increase 16.5% 624,181 Increase 37.5% 691,689 Increase 35.1%
2001 48,121 Decrease 28.7% 884,428 Increase 41.7% 932,549 Increase 34.8%
2002 45,457 Decrease 5.5% 1,045,252 Increase 12.1% 1,090,709 Increase 16.9%
2003 41,583 Decrease 8.5% 1,144,766 Increase 9.5% 1,186,349 Increase 8.8%
2004 47,575 Increase 14.4% 1,271,552 Increase 11.1% 1,319,127 Increase 11.2%
2005 49,705 Increase 4.5% 1,496,175 Increase 17.7% 1,546,925 Increase 17.3%
2006 54,243 Increase 9.1% 1,468,415 Decrease 1.8% 1,522,658 Decrease 1.6%
2007 79,058 Increase 45.7% 1,399,035 Decrease 4.7% 1,478,093 Decrease 2.9%
2008 119,459 Increase 51.1% 1,313,244 Decrease 6.1% 1,432,703 Decrease 3.1%
2009 155,734 Increase 30.4% 1,050,801 Decrease 20% 1,206,535 Decrease 15.8%
2010 154,974 Decrease 0.5% 1,043,982 Decrease 0.6% 1,198,956 Decrease 0.6%
2011 117,431 Decrease 24.2% 1,046,453 Increase 0.2% 1,163,884 Decrease 2.9%
2012 126,952 Increase 8.1% 1,084,244 Increase 3.6% 1,211,196 Increase 4.1%
2013 130,668 Increase 2.9% 1,173,011 Increase 8.1% 1,303,679 Increase 7.6%
2014 126,991 Decrease 2.8% 1,246,095 Increase 6.2% 1,387,494 Increase 5.2%
2015 125,860 Decrease 0.9% 1,272,834 Increase 2.2% 1,398,694[21] Increase 0.8%
2016 (01.01-30.06) Increase Increase 499,737[22] Increase 24.3%

Bus

The Airport Bus stop to Varna and nearby resorts is located just outside Terminal 2.

Bus line № 409 Route: Varna Airport – Mall Varna– Varna Coach Station for Grand Mall – City Center (the Cathedral) – Saints Constantine and Helena, Bulgaria and Golden Sands Resort[23]

Taxi

The taxi stand is located in front of Terminal 1's departure area. A taxi ride from Varna Airport to the city center takes approximately15 minutes.

Incidents and accidents

  • On 24 May 2013, Air VIA flight 502 from Leipzig/Halle to Varna overshot the runway at Varna Airport after touchdown. Two people on board were injured during evacuation.[24][25]
  • On 5 June 1992 Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Tupolev 154B ran off the runway in bad weather conditions. There war no casualties, but the plane was written off.[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Varna Airport Closes for Runway Overhaul in October". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  2. ^ Air Serbia flights to Varna goes seasonal [dead link]
  3. ^ Tyrolean Airways to merge with Austrian Airlines
  4. ^ http://www.novinite.com/articles/170013/Balkan+Holidays+To+Launch+Glasgow-Varna+Flights+Next+Summer
  5. ^ https://book.air.bg/plnext/bulgarianNew/Override.action#/FDCS
  6. ^ a b "Varna Airport Schedule". Information and Services. Bourgas Airport. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  7. ^ http://airlineroute.net/2016/02/12/ew-europe-s16update2/
  8. ^ http://www.chronicle.bg/%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BE/finnair-%D1%81-%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B8-%D0%B4%D0%BE-%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%B7%D0%B0-%D0%BB%D1%8F%D1%82%D0%BE-2016/
  9. ^ "Germania Flight Schedule / 30.12.2014 - 01.11.2015" (PDF). Germania.
  10. ^ http://airlineroute.net/2015/09/17/st-rlg-s16/
  11. ^ "SmartWings Contact". smartwings.com.
  12. ^ http://airlineroute.net/2015/09/30/qs-s16update1/
  13. ^ "SmartWings Flight schedule". smartwings.com.
  14. ^ http://airlineroute.net/2016/03/18/xg-s16update2/
  15. ^ http://airlineroute.net/2016/03/18/xg-s16update2/
  16. ^ http://airlineroute.net/2016/03/18/xg-s16update2/
  17. ^ "SunExpress Germany S15 Planned New Routes as of 03DEC14". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  18. ^ http://airlineroute.net/2016/03/18/xg-s16update2/
  19. ^ http://airlineroute.net/2016/03/17/u6-s16/
  20. ^ https://wizzair.com/en-GB/about_us/news/wizzen440
  21. ^ http://www.fraport.de/content/fraport/de/misc/binaer/investor-relations/verkehrszahlen/2016/verkehrszahlen-dezember-2015/jcr:content.file/verkehrszahlen_2015_dezember.pdf
  22. ^ http://www.fraport.de/content/fraport/de/misc/binaer/investor-relations/verkehrszahlen/2016/verkehrszahlen-juni/jcr:content.file/06-traffic-sheet-2016-juni_deutsch.pdf
  23. ^ "Начало". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  24. ^ "Морски - Самолет излезе от пистата на летище Варна, две жени са със счупени крайници (допълнена и видео) - видео - Dnevnik.bg". www.dnevnik.bg. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  25. ^ "The Aviation Herald". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  26. ^ Harro Ranter (5 June 1992). "ASN Aircraft accident Tupolev 154B LZ-BTD Varna Airport (VAR)". Retrieved 7 June 2015.

Media related to Varna Airport at Wikimedia Commons

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