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Bulgarian Airlines Association Sums Up 2024 as Good Year for Civil Aviation

Diana Dukovska, Nikolay Trifonov
Bulgarian Airlines Association Sums Up 2024 as Good Year for Civil Aviation
Bulgarian Airlines Association Sums Up 2024 as Good Year for Civil Aviation
A news conference organized by the Bulgarian Airlines Association reviews the state of Bulgarian civil aviation in 2024, its trends and the new challenges facing it, April 16, 2025 (BTA Photo/Vladimir Shokov)
Sofia,  
16.04.2025 16:51
 (BTA)

The Bulgarian Airlines Association (BAA) Wednesday held a news conference to review the state of Bulgarian civil aviation in 2024, its trends and the new challenges facing it. Participating were managers of leading Bulgarian airlines, BAA members and representatives of aircraft maintenance and repair facilities.

BAA Chairman Svetoslav Stanulov said 2024 was a good year for Bulgarian civil aviation. At the end of 2024, there were 12 active air carriers with valid operating licences, he said. Bulgarian airlines operated 80 aircraft: 59 passenger planes and 21 cargo aircraft.

There is a major issue with initial pilot training, he said. Bulgaria has sufficient capacity for initial training and ongoing instruction of cabin crew - more than double the needs of its aviation. There is also adequate capacity for training of technical personnel for aircraft maintenance and repair facilities.

BAA Secretary General Yovko Yocev said that in 2024, passengers on international flights in Bulgaria increased by 3.7% from 2023. 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.

Bulgaria Air Executive Director Bistra Marinkova said there are no signs that airfares will fall. She said this was due to the highly restrictive aviation policies at the European level and noted that airlines are required to pay for emissions quotas, whose prices are set by the market.

So far this year, airlines of a scale like Bulgaria Air are required to use sustainable aviation fuel, which is more expensive. Tankering for economic reasons is prohibited, meaning that if fuel is cheaper in Sofia than in Prague, airplanes cannot refuel at the lower price for the return flight, Marinkova explained. Each airport and ground handling operator has updated prices. All of this, put together, explains why airfares cannot decrease.

"As the national carrier and the only airline operating regular international and domestic routes, Bulgaria Air has a mission that sometimes goes unnoticed by the public - hundreds of tickets are provided free of charge to people with health issues. Not a single request has been denied," said Marinkova.

/NZ/

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By 20:32 on 19.04.2025 Today`s news

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