Varna Airport () is the airport of

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

, the historical maritime capital of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. Varna Airport is the third largest airport in Bulgaria. It is located 10 kilometers from the center of Varna near the town of Aksakovo. The airport serves

Golden Sands Golden Sands ( Bulgarian: Златни пясъци, ''Zlatni pyasatsi'' ) is a major seaside resort town on the northern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, adjacent to a national park of the same name in the municipality of Varna. Located 17 km n ...

and northeastern Bulgaria. The busiest season for the airport is from the end of May to the beginning of October.

History

The history of the airport dates back to 1916 when two sheds for the first hydro-port in Bulgaria were built in the Peinerdzhik area (present-day ''Chaika'' residential area). Irregular mail-plane service from

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

was held between 1919 and 1920 and it was not until 1947 that a permanent airline between the two cities was established. What had grown into Tihina Airport was situated west of the present-day Asparuhov bridge and was indeed quite primitive for the demands of a modern city. Thus in 1946 a decision was made and a new airport was constructed several kilometres west of the city, near the village (now town) of Aksakovo, with local people enthusiastically working on the site together with the constructors. Construction and improvement continued throughout the years, with a new terminal built in 1972 and a new runway in 1974. In 2013, a new passenger terminal opened and the one constructed in the 20th century was closed down. There are domestic and international flights from Varna to about 70 destinations in 25 countries, with Bulgarian and foreign airlines. The airport is close to the

Port of Varna Port of Varna ( bg, Пристанище Варна, Pristanishte Varna)map is the largest seaport complex in Bulgaria. Located on the Black Sea's west coast on Varna Bay, along Lake Varna and Lake Beloslav, it also comprises the outlying port of ...

and the railway system. The airport has one asphalt-covered runway 09/27 with ILS CAT I system on 09 edge and a parking apron for 24 aircraft. In June 2006 the Bulgarian Government awarded ''

Fraport Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide,concession Concession may refer to: General * Concession (contract) (sometimes called a concession agreement), a contractual right to carry on a certain kind of business or activity in an area, such as to explore or develop its natural resources or to opera ...

on both Varna and Burgas airports in return for investments exceeding €500 million, including a new passenger terminal by 2008. From 15 October 2011 until 28 February 2012, Varna airport was closed for a reconstruction of the runway. All flights were operated to/from

Burgas Airport Burgas Airport () is an international airport in southeast Bulgaria and the second largest in the country. It is near the northern neighbourhood of Sarafovo approximately from the city centre. The airport principally serves Burgas and other s ...

. In 2016 the airport handled 1,689,595 passengers - a 20.8% increase compared to 2015.

Terminals

The airport has three terminals: Terminal 1, built in 1972 (closed), Terminal 3 (opened in June 2007), which was used during the summer season, and the new Terminal 2, opened in August 2013.

Terminal 1

Terminal 1 (closed) was extended several times over the years. The departures area had 21 check-in counters and six security checkpoints. In the terminal there were various outlets: cafes, fast food restaurants, currency exchange, and

duty-free shop A duty-free shop (or store) is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who ...

s. There were ten boarding gates. The arrivals area had two luggage belts, as well as currency exchange and a tax-free shop. Terminal 1 still has a VIP room and business lounge. In 2010 the VIP room was renovated. As of 2014, all flights, including no-frills, are managed by Terminal 2. Hence, the old terminal is closed except the VIP area.

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 started operations on 18 August 2013. In December 2011 the construction work on the new Terminal 2 began. T2 has a capacity of 1,800,000 passengers per year and 25 check-in desks. It covers an area of 18,000 square metres. T2's buildings are designed so that their capacity can be increased as an extension to the existing architectural part. The first passenger service on T2 was a domestic flight to

operated by the national carrier

Bulgaria Air Bulgaria Air ( bg, България Ер) is the flag carrier airline of Bulgaria, with its headquarters at Sofia Airport in Sofia. The company is owned by Chimimport AD and is a leader in terms of local market share. The airline operates short ...

and first international passengers served were on a

Belavia Belavia, formally Belavia Belarusian Airlines ( be, ААТ «Авіякампанія «Белавія»; russian: ОАО «Авиакомпания «Белавиа»), is the flag carrier and national airline of Belarus, headquartered in Minsk ...

flight from

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

. T2 was designed by London-based architecture firm Pascall+Watson.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Varna Airport:

Statistics

Traffic

Ground transport

Bus line 409 connects the airport with Varna city center and resorts nearby (route: ''Varna Airport –

Mall Varna Varna Mall is a shopping mall in Varna, Bulgaria, which was opened on June 12, 2008. It is located on the intersection of the Boulevards Vladislav Varnenchik & Hristo Smirnenski and it was built at a cost of € 120 million. Mall Varna's construct ...

– Varna Bus Station / Grand Mall – City Center – Saints Constantine and Helena -

'').

Incidents and accidents

* On 5 June 1992, Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Tupolev 154B overran runway 27 in bad weather conditions. There were no casualties, but the plane was written off. * On 24 May 2013,

Air VIA Air VIA was a charter airline with its head office in Sofia, Bulgaria, that operated charter flights on behalf of European tour operators. Most Air VIA flights operated from European destinations into Varna Airport and Burgas Airport, the airline ...

flight 502 from Leipzig/Halle to Varna overran runway 09 at Varna Airport after touchdown. Two passengers were injured during evacuation. * On July 8, 2014, Lars Mittank, a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

vacationing in Golden Sands, mysteriously disappeared near Varna Airport. Mittank had been alone in Bulgaria the previous two days and reported to be behaving strangely, and was last seen on security cameras fleeing from the airport into the surrounding forest.

References

External links

Varna Airport Homepage

{{authority control Airports in Bulgaria Buildings and structures in Varna Province Tourism in Varna, Bulgaria