Sofia Airport

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Sofia Airport Летище София

IATA: SOF - ICAO: LBSF
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Sofia Airport EAD
Serves		Sofia
Elevation AMSL		1,742 ft (531 m)
Coordinates		42°41′42″N, 023°24′30″E
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
09/27	11,811	3,600	Asphalt

Sofia Airport (IATA: SOF, ICAO: LBSF) (Bulgarian: Летище София), also known as Vrazhdebna (Враждебна) (Hostile in English) is the main airport in Sofia, Bulgaria. The airport is a hub for Bulgaria Air (successor of the bankrupt Balkan Airlines) and Hemus Air.

Built in the 1930s on the outskirts of the then relatively small capital city, Sofia Airport cannot properly handle today's traffic. Furthermore, it is inconveniently situated among industrial and residential areas of the expanding city. After years of studying different possibilities, some as far as 70 km away from Sofia, it was agreed to expand the existing airport.

1 Airport reconstruction
- 1.1 Delays of the terminal construction
2 Airlines and destinations
- 2.1 New Flights
3 Sources
4 External links

[edit] Airport reconstruction

A model of the new airport terminal in the departures hall

According to the plan a new Sofia Airport terminal had to be built to the east of the current terminal, and a second runway to be constructed along the existing one. The existing runway will be turned into a taxiway parallel to the newly constructed runway. Both will be crossing the river Iskar on a bridge. The new runway and the existing infrastructure are due to open at the beginning of September, 2006.

Total cost of the project was planned at 200 million euro. The financing 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), European Union's 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. ^[1]

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

[edit] Delays of the terminal construction

Sofia's Airport from the air

The initial deadline of for the new terminal was December 15, 2004 with a total budget of 112.2 million euro. Right after the beginning Strabag contested the geological surveys made by the Dutch engineering consutancy company NACO B.V., and demanded additional funding for unexpected additional works. The delay was 10 months, and the construction was resumed after Bulgarian government agreed to amend the contract increasing it with 4.8 million euro. The deadline was extended by August 31, 2005. ^[2]

In 2004 Strabag demanded additional 6 million euro due to rise in steel prices ^[3]. The Ministry of Transportation rejected the claim backed by NACO's report. In May 2005 the construction company threatened to take the case to an international arbitration body. ^[4]

In August it was revealed that Strabag will not be able to meet the changed deadline, and the further delay was estimated to be within 6-8 weeks ^[5]. Later in November the company asked for 8 months extension of the slippery deadline. ^[6]

In February 2006 approximately 500 m² of the suspended ceiling have fallen leaving many questions about the quality of the construction works. Although no injuries were reported the local media added the passengers safety to the price and time discussion. ^[7]

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Aegean Airlines (Athens)
Aeroflot (Moscow-Sheremetyevo)
Aerosvit Airlines (Kiev-Boryspil)
Air France (Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
Air Malta (Malta)
Ajet (Larnaca)
Alitalia (Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino)
Austrian Airlines (Vienna)
Bulgaria Air (Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin-Tegel, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Frankfurt, Lisbon, London-Gatwick, Madrid, Málaga, Milan-Malpensa, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Palma, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Prague, Seville, Stockholm-Arlanda, Tel Aviv, Zürich)
British Airways (London-Heathrow)
Czech Airlines (Prague)
El Al (Tel Aviv)
Hemus Air (Athens, Beirut, Berlin-Tegel, Bucharest, Burgas, Cairo, Cologne/Bonn, Dubai, Larnaca, London-Heathrow, Madrid, Tirana, Tripoli, Varna)
LOT Polish Airlines (Warsaw)
Lufthansa (Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich)
Malév Hungarian Airlines (Budapest)
MyAir (Bologna, Milan-Orio, Rome-Ciampino) [Starts 15 February 2007]
Olympic Airlines (Athens)
Pulkovo Airlines (St Petersburg)
SkyEurope (Bratislava)
Tarom (Bucharest-Otopeni)
Turkish Airlines (Istanbul-Atatürk)
Viaggio Air (Vienna)
Wizz Air (Budapest, Rome Ciampino [starts 2 March, 2007], London-Luton)

[edit] New Flights

With no new airport being constructed, Sofia will not have direct flights to farther destinations. Some of these rumours include are Hong Kong International Airport, Cairo International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport. Another airport about which speculations are made is Washington Dulles International Airport in America due to many diplomats coming for business.^{[citation needed]}