site.bta"No Risk" of State Aviation Operator Going out of Service

There is no risk of the State Aviation Operator (SAO) going out of service, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov told journalists in the National Assembly on Friday. The SAO (formerly Air Squad 28) provides air transport for the president, prime minister and other high-ranking state officials. Its management has written to Transport and Communications Minister Georgi Gvozdeikov to tell him that they have no contract for aviation fuel. The letter was sent on Thursday, a day before the derogation from the EU ban on Russian oil was to be ended.

According to Denkov, the fact that the letter was sent on the last possible day was either gross negligence or sabotage. "There will be consequences," he warned.

The end of the derogation can cause a rise of fuel prices in Bulgaria because oil now has to be supplied from more distant sources than Russia and delays are therefore more likely than before, Denkov said. "In a way, this was expected," he commented. He believes it is necessary to keep the Lukoil Neftochim refinery running to avoid a shock rise of prices.

Fuels are not likely to be in short supply any time soon, but the same cannot be said of the more distant future, the Prime Minister said.