site.btaBulgaria Saw 3.7% Increase in International Flight Passengers in 2024 Y/Y

In 2024, passengers on international flights in Bulgaria increased by 3.7% from 2023, said Yovko Yocev, Secretary General of the Bulgarian Airlines Association. He talked at Wednesday's news conference reviewing the state of civil aviation in Bulgaria in 2024, its trends and the challenges facing it.

A total of 10,905,281 passengers travelled on international flights in 2024.

There was also a 3.4% increase in passengers on commercial flights in 2024 compared to 2023. Commercial flights passengers to and from Bulgaria totalled 11,377,440. In 2024, the industry reached 95% of the 2019 pre-pandemic levels, when passenger numbers were 11,915,405, compared to 11,002,062 in 2023.

Sofia Airport stands out as a particularly important hub for Bulgaria's connectivity. It accounted for around 70% of all international flight passengers, with a nearly 11% increase from 2023, Yocev said. A total of 7,658,201 passengers were handled by Sofia Airport in 2024, up by 12.7% from 2019.

In 2024, Varna Airport handled 1,536,472 commercial flight passengers, while Burgas Airport handled 1,786,658, Yocev said.