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
Location Sofia
Elevation AMSL 531 m / 1,742 ft
Coordinates 42°41′42″N 023°24′30″E / 42.695, 23.40833
Website www.sofia-airport.bg
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
09/27 3,600 11,811 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, and 2.7 million passengers in 2007.[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]

Contents

[edit] Airport reconstruction

A model of the new airport terminal in the departures hall
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 alongside 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. [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[3], 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 as seen from space
Sofia's Airport as seen from space

The initial deadline of for the new terminal was 15 December 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 until 31 August 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 was not able to meet the changed deadline, and the further delay was estimated to be 6-8 weeks [5]. Later in November the company asked for 8 months extension of the slippery deadline. [6]

[edit] Transport links

[edit] Bus

There are 2 bus services that connect both Terminals 1 & 2 to the city centre, more specifically Sofia University [7] Travel time is about 20 minutes, but it may take much longer depending on traffic conditions.

From/to Terminal 1: Bus line no. 84

From/to Terminal 2: Bus line no. 284

Ticket prices for 1 trip as of April 2008: BGN 0.70 or €0.35, which could be bought from kiosk or newsagent.

[edit] Shuttle bus

A small shuttle bus line no. 30 service serves both terminals and connects to city centre and Sofia's biggest district Lyulin. Ticket price as of April 2008: BGN 1.50 or €0.75

[edit] Taxi

Taxis are available at the Arrivals of Terminals 1 & 2.The taxi fare to downtown is about €5 to €8 depending on traffic conditions. Average prices per kilometre start at €0.35 as of April 2008. Sofia International Airport is well connected to both Trakiya motorway & Hemus motorway.

[edit] Terminal 1

  • Aviaexpress (Skopje)
  • easyJet (London-Gatwick)
  • Flybaboo (Geneva [starts 16 June, 2008])
  • Germanwings (Cologne/Bonn)
  • MyAir (Bologna, Milan-Bergamo, Venice)
  • SkyEurope (Prague, Vienna)
  • Wizz Air (Barcelona [starts 26 July], Brussels-Charleroi [starts 24 July], Dortmund, London-Luton, Milano-Bergamo [starts 25 July], Rome-Fiumicino, Valencia [starts 12 June], Varna [starts 25 July]

[edit] Terminal 2

Flight FB408 arrives from Brussels
Flight FB408 arrives from Brussels

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

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

Interior of Terminal 2
Interior of Terminal 2

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. [8]

[edit] Charter airlines

[edit] Cargo Airlines

[edit] Traffic figures

'Traffic at Sofia Airport
Year Passengers Cargo (tonnes)
2000 1,127,400 11,004
2001 1,107,682 10,380
2002 1,214,137 12,480
2003 1,356,569 13,754
2004 1,614,139 14,468
2005 1,874,368 14,724
2006 2,209,348 15,244
2007 2,746,178 17,388

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sofia Airport news site
  2. ^ Bulgarian National radio news on opening of terminal 2
  3. ^ Terminal could be ready by 20 December 2006

[edit] Notes

  1. ^  Sofia Echo — Plans on the runway
  2. ^  Standard — Niki Vassilev Leaves Sofia without New Airport
  3. ^  Dnevnik — Strabag seeks new revision, arbitration looms
  4. ^  Ministry of transportation Minister Mutafchiev met Strabag representatives (in Bulgarian)
  5. ^  Winter charter traffic at Sofia airport
  6. ^  Sofia Echo — New demands for completion of Sofia Airport project

[edit] See also

[edit] External links