Sofia Airport

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Sofia Airport Летище София (Враждебна) Letishte Sofiya (Vrazhdebna)

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, Letishte Sofiya), also known as Vrazhdebna (Враждебна) (after the village located to the north) is the main airport in Sofia, Bulgaria. The airport is a hub for Bulgaria Air (successor of the bankrupt Balkan Airlines) and Hemus Air. It handled 2.2 million passengers in 2006, which is expected to grow to 2.6 million in 2009^[1].

Initially built in the 1930s on the outskirts of the then relatively small capital city, Sofia Airport was facing difficulties with today's traffic. After years of studying different possibilities, some as far as 70 km away from Sofia, it was agreed to expand the existing airport. The airport's second terminal was officially opened on 27 December 2006.^[2]

1 Airport reconstruction
- 1.1 Delays of the terminal construction
2 New Terminal 2
3 Airlines and destinations
4 Sources
5 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 was built to the east of the current terminal, and a second runway was constructed along the existing one. The existing runway has been turned into a taxiway parallel to the newly constructed runway. Both are crossing the river Iskar on a bridge. 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 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. ^[3]

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. ^[4]

In 2004 Strabag demanded additional 6 million euro due to rise in steel prices ^[5]. 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. ^[6]

In August it was revealed that Strabag was not able to meet the changed deadline, and the further delay was estimated to be 6-8 weeks ^[7]. Later in November the company asked for 8 months extension of the slippery deadline. ^[8]

In February 2006 approximately 500 m² of the suspended ceiling fell down, 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. ^[9]

[edit] New Terminal 2

Flight FB408 arrives from Brussels

The new Terminal 2 was officially opened on December 27, 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 itself has 7 gates, 38 check-in desks and covers an area of 50 000 sq m and has a parking lot for 820 vehicles.

The new terminal is located to the east of Terminal 1 and is significantly bigger than the old one that will continue to serve the low-cost airlines.

The new passenger terminal building is designed with a capacity of 2,000 peak hour passenger flow and up to 2,6 million passengers per year together with 26 000 tonne of cargo. For the first time in Bulgaria an airport will serve passengers with airport gates instead of shuttle busses.

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

The infrastructure surrounding the building is expected to be completed in 2007. It includes a new highway connecting the terminal with the existing airport road, landscape works including an artificial lake and a fountain.

Currently (as of March 2007), T2 is serving Bulgaria Air, Viaggio Air, Hemus Air, Cyprus Airways, Rossiya Airlines, Aegean Airlines, Alitalia, Czech Airlines and El Al. Other airlines are expected to move in in the next several months.

A new city bus line No. 284 is serving the route from Sofia University to Terminal 2. There is a free interterminal shuttle between the old T1 and the new T2.

The airlines ticketing offices, tourist and rent-a-car 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 parking garage is facilitated via elevators and escalators. [10]

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Aegean Airlines (Athens)
Aeroflot (Moscow-Sheremetyevo)
Aerosvit Airlines (Kiev-Boryspil)
Air France (Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
Air Italy (Verona) [Starts June 1,2007]
Air Malta (Malta)
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, Stockholm-Arlanda, Tel Aviv, Zürich)
British Airways (London-Heathrow)
Czech Airlines (Prague)
El Al (Tel Aviv)
First Choice (Birmingham, Bristol)
Germanwings (Cologne-Bonn)
Hemus Air (Athens, Beirut, Berlin-Tegel, Bucharest-Otopeni, Burgas, Cairo, Cologne/Bonn, Dubai, Larnaca, London-Heathrow, Madrid, Tirana, Tripoli, Varna)
LOT Polish Airlines (Warsaw)
Lufthansa (Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich)
Malév Hungarian Airlines (Budapest)
Monarch(London Gatwick, Manchester)
MyAir (Bologna, Milan-Orio, Rome-Ciampino, Venice)
Olympic Airlines (Athens)
Rossiya Airlines (St. Petersburg)
SkyEurope (Vienna)
TAROM (Bucharest-Otopeni)
Thomas Cook (London Gatwick, Manchester)
Thomsonfly (London Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester)
Turkish Airlines (Istanbul-Atatürk)
Viaggio Air (Vienna)
Wizz Air (Rome Ciampino, London-Luton)