Sofia Airport (SOF/LBSF)
New routes and frequency possibilities and why these routes would work
Sofia Airport is looking for these new partnerships
| Short & Medium Haul Opportunities | ||||
| Scandinavian Region – Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki | ||||
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| Baltic Region – Riga | ||||
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| Southern France – Lyon, Nice | ||||
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| Southern Germany – Stuttgart | ||||
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| Strategic Routes | ||||
| Gulf Area (for connecting opportunities) | ||||
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| Asia – Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul | ||||
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| USA – New York, Chicago, Washington | ||||
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Other major reasons to serve this airport
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The modern airport, which has over 70 years’ experience, boasts surroundings with stunning nature and a rich history. Bulgaria attracts 5 million foreign tourists annually, travelling for leisure alone.
- Sofia is the capital and main city of the Republic of Bulgaria which became an EU member in January 2007
- Four of the total 10 Pan-European transport corridors cross the country and connect it with the rest of the region
- The population of Bulgaria is 7.7 million people – about 2 million live in Sofia
- 5 million foreign tourists visit Bulgaria annually for sea, skiing, spa and other leisure purposes
- Sofia is a commercial, cultural, transport and university centre, with well developed facilities for business, investments and tourism
- It is one of the greenest capital cities in Europe, known for its surrounding therapeutic mineral springs and, nowadays, the opportunities for sport and entertainment
- Sofia Airport is an open door 24/7, 365 days to a country with an ancient culture, great history, unique traditions, natural wonders and friendly people
- It is the largest airport in Bulgaria with over 70 years of experience, modernised infrastructure and a well-developed network of year-round scheduled services to over 40 destinations
- The two-fold passenger traffic growth in just four years ranked Sofia Airport among the fastest developing airports in Europe
- The attractive marketing environment includes low operational costs and a wide choice of airport slots and service providers
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June 2010: Lufthansa, which has invested heavily in Bulgarian maintenance facilities, celebrated 40 years in the country. A few months earlier, Niki Lauda personally piloted NIKI’s Vienna-Sofia route launch and was welcomed by the minister of transport Aleksandar Tsvetkov. A low-cost terminal and accompanying low-cost charges await more airlines interested in adopting some of the astonishingly strong business plans for new routes.
Marketing and other support
Sofia Airport – low cost airport charges
The total amount to be paid for landing, parking, passenger and other airport charges (excl. ground handling) at Sofia Airport for a typical A320 aircraft type is €2,290 for a short turnaround on a contact stand (with airbridge) – a saving of about €690 per flight compared with average airport costs in the region.
Sofia Airport also actively supports airlines which open new routes or increase capacity on already existing ones:
- Market analysis – passenger and cargo flows
- Strategic partnership offered – business associations, tourist organisations, sales agencies
- Co-branded promotional campaigns
- Free-of-charge advertisement on Sofia Airport website and within the airport premises
- Media information tours
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Sofia is located in a central position in the Balkan peninsula, making the EU airport the ideal gateway for a vast area – a catchment of more than 16 million people.
Catchment Area
Sofia is a gateway to the EU common market, conveniently located on its eastern border. The airport is also at a close distance to other Balkan capitals and large cities: Skopje – 240 km, Thessaloniki – 300 km, Belgrade – 395 km, Bucharest – 400 km, Tirana – 535 km. Sofia Airport is the main international airport in Bulgaria, which offers year-round direct flights to more than 40 destinations – 26 of them with daily frequencies. This gives Sofia Airport strength to attract passengers from a population of over 16 million citizens.
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Sofia’s location, where major European roads cross, make it an ideal freight gateway for southeast Europe. A large number of major international investors generate freight and air travel-related opportunities, including Hyundai, Nestlé, Johnson Controls, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, IBM etc.
Under-served freight opportunities and other economic impact factors
- The close geographical location of Sofia creates opportunities for transfer of goods between continents
- This advantage has been noticed by many world-known forwarders who have invested in a logistics park in the vicinity of Sofia Airport
- All necessary storage and handling facilities are available at the airport provided by a good choice of suppliers
- Among the leading foreign companies represented on the Bulgarian market are Mitsubishi Heavy industries, HYUNDAI, Johnson Controls, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, IBM, KRAFT FOODS, Nestle.
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Terminal 1 caters to low-cost and charter carriers, providing bus gates and a capacity of 1.8 million passengers, while the new and modern 56,500 sqm Terminal 2, completed in 2006, caters to full-service airlines.
Geography
- Located in the eastern side of the capital, 10 km from the city centre
- Convenient public transport
- Subway extension in progress
- Easy access to the main country motor highways
Infrastructure & Operations
- Runway: One runway (3,600 m x 45 m); Cat III A
- Apron: 31 remote aircraft stands and seven contact stands
- Slot Coordinated Airport – Level 2
- Operating hours: 24/7; (scheduled flights restricted between 23:00-06:00)
- Terminals: Two terminals with total annual capacity of 4.4 million
- Terminal 1: dedicated for Low-cost & charter carriers
Capacity: 1.8 million
Area: 9,300 sq.m
18 check-in desks, seven bus gates, two baggage claim carousels, full retail and service offered and parking for 400 cars in close proximity to the terminal. - Terminal 2: dedicated to full service carriers
Capacity: 2.6 million
Area 56, 500 sq. m
34 check-in desks, seven boarding bridge gates, four bus gates, four baggage claim carousels, full retail and service offered including multi-storey parking for 850 cars.
- Terminal 1: dedicated for Low-cost & charter carriers
- Liberalised ground handling market
- SOFIA AIRPORT EAD offers full service – passengers, baggage, ramp, cargo and mail
Vital statistics
Traffic statistics back to 2006 and marketing information for leading airlines and the most popular routes at Sofia Airport can be seen here
