Ruse Airport ( bg, Летище Русе, Letishte Ruse), also known as Shtraklevo (''Щръклево'') after the village located to the north, is a former military and passenger airport located about 20 km south of the city of

Ruse, Bulgaria Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; bg, Русе ) is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, approximately south of ...

. It is currently open, but with an active license for small passenger and cargo flights (license issued on 21.12.2016).

History

The airport was established in 1967 as a training site for pilots from the

Bulgarian Air Force The Bulgarian Air Force ( bg, Военновъздушни сили, Voennovazdushni sili) is one of the three branches of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and p ...

. The airport was named 11th Air Base "Shtraklevo" and equipped with

Aero L-29 Delfin Aero is a Greek prefix relating to flight and air. In British English, it is used as an adjective related to flight (e.g., as a shortened substitute for aeroplane). Aero, Ærø, or Aeros may refer to: Aeronautics Airlines and companies * Aero (Po ...

coming from

Dolna Mitropoliya Dolna Mitropoliya ( bg, Долна Митрополия , "Lower Bishopric"; also transliterated as Dolna Mitropolia, Dolna Mitropolija) is a town in Pleven Province of northern Bulgaria, the administrative center of Dolna Mitropoliya municipalit ...

Airport. It was used by

Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Balkan Bulgarian Airlines ( bg, Балкан) was Bulgaria's government-owned flag carrier airline between 1947 and 2002. During the 1970s, the airline became a significant European carrier. The company encountered financial instability followi ...

for its domestic flights to

Sofia Airport Sofia Airport ( bg, Летище София, translit=Letishte Sofiya) is the main international airport of Bulgaria, located east of the centre of the capital Sofia. In 2019 the airport surpassed 7 million passengers for the first time. The ai ...

, but with the end of the communist era in Bulgaria, domestic flights weren't profitable, due to lack of government funding. It served as a training base until 1998, when it ceased military operations and was finally abandoned in 1999.

Developing

The government of Bulgaria decided to grant concession of some of its international airports, but the first procedure in late 2007 wasn't successful, although there was interest from the Swiss investor Ferdinand Prisi and the Bulgarian company

Prista Oil Prista Oil ( bg, Приста Ойл) is a Bulgarian company headquartered in the city of Rousse and mainly engaged in the production of 150 kinds of motor oils and industrial lubricants, as well as their distribution, transport and storage, cl ...

. The government decided to make a new bid for the airport of Ruse, the new concourse should take place in the middle of December 2007, but later postponed it to unknown date. In mid-October 2014, the Ministry of Transport decided to grant the ownership of the airport to Ruse Municipality. The idea was approved by the municipality Councilors and the finalization of the deal was expected to occur in early November 2014. The airport's manager, Nikolay Gorchev, stated in an interview that when the deal was completed, an application for license for aviation activities would be made. The Bulgarian government transferred ownership of the property in

Shtraklevo Shtraklevo ( bg, Щръклево) is a village in northern Bulgaria. It is located in municipality of Ivanovo in Rousse. Geography Shtraklevo is located south of Rousse. Rousse Airport is located approximately 1 kilometer from the village. ...

village, as well as its stake in the airport to Ruse municipality on 17 December 2014. The procedure was finalized on 4 February 2015 and the airport is currently officially owned by Ruse municipality. From 2017, the airport is open for small passenger and cargo aircraft.

Airlines and destinations

There are currently no services to and from Ruse Airport.

References

{{authority control Defunct airports Airports in Bulgaria

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

Buildings and structures in Ruse Province

History

Developing

Airlines and destinations

See also

References