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Sofia Airport

Just about 3 miles from the central business district, Sofia Airport is the main international gateway in Bulgaria. Located 3.1 miles from central Sofia, this airport is also the base of the Bulgarian air force. The airport is conveniently located and also well connected to road and rail routes running to different parts of Bulgaria. Stats suggest that the airport processed just about 3.4 million passengers last year, which is slightly lesser than the corresponding figures for the year 2011.

History/Overview

In the year 1938, construction of the airport began at a location 11 km away from the heart of the city of Sofia. Since its inauguration and right through the days of World War II, the Sofia Airport was mainly used by the military forces. Once the war ended, airport authorities turned towards commercial aviation, which led to the launch of passenger flights in the year 1947. The first terminal that was erected here had a capacity to serve 6,00,000 passengers per year. Over the years, several expansion plans were implemented to extend the runway so it can accommodate wide-bodied airplanes and jet planes, and to expand the airport’s terminal into a bigger facility.

Flights and Destinations

Flights to Sofia Airport arrive from a number of destinations such as Athens, Moscow, London, Berlin, Barcelona, Munich, Vienna, Rome, Istanbul, Kiev, Tel Aviv, Frankfurt and many others. With popular airlines like Wizz Air, Bulgaria Air, Aeroflot flying airplanes to Madrid, London Heathrow, and Moscow respectively, the airport offers good connections to 3 important gateways in the European continent. Some other airlines flying flights from Sofia airport are Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France, and Qatar Airways.

Terminals

Sofia Airport is split into 2 terminals- Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. While Terminal 1 serves low cost carriers and chartered airplanes operators, Terminal 2- equipped with airbridges- handles 2000 passengers per hour. Ease of access and adherence to contemporary airports standards make these terminals into a very good centre for commercial aviation.

Facilities

Though not overwhelming, the range of dining and shopping options presented in the Sofia Airport are decent. Apart from eateries, cafes, and big retailers shops, there is a comfortable VIP lounge with access to a fine selection of newspapers, periodicals and magazines, and modern amenities like Wi-Fi, broadband, international TV etc.