site.btaSofia Airport Posts 14% Increase in Passengers in January-June

Sofia Airport Posts 14% Increase in Passengers in January-June

Sofia, July 26 (BTA) - Sofia Airport handled 2,174,335 passengers in the first half of the year, 260,980 (14 per cent) more than a year earlier, according to the Airport's June and first-half statistics.

Terminal 1 handled 41 per cent of all passengers, and the rest went through Terminal 2.

The number of passengers on regular international flights grew by 16 per cent on a year earlier due to the new destinations and increased flight frequency to some destinations. Eleven new destinations were introduced in the first half of the year: Kiev, Bristol, Oslo/Torp, Birmingham, Pisa, London/Stansted, Lisbon, Alicante, Palermo, Copenhagen and Budapest.

A 4 per cent drop was reported for passengers on regular domestic flights from Sofia to Varna and Bourgas between January and June. Passengers on charter flights were 23 per cent fewer than in the first half of 2015.

A total of 23,795 aircraft were handled in the first half of the year, 12 per cent more than a year earlier.

Regular international flights increased by 15 per cent, while regular domestic flights decreased by 3 per cent.

Charter flights decreased by 7 per cent. Specialized cargo flights went up by about 2 per cent.

At 10,325 tonnes, cargo and postal delivery was 15 per cent more than in the first half of 2015 (with a 16 per cent increase for cargo shipments and 10 per cent growth in postal delivery).

In June, Sofia Airport handled 415,559 passengers, up 13 per cent from a year earlier, and 4,509 flights, up 16 per cent. Cargo and postal shipments totalled 1,748 tonnes, down 4 per cent on a year earlier.