site.btaMunich Airport Teaches Sofia Airport Staff Good Customer Service

Munich Airport will play an active role in the Sofia Airport development project, the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport reported Monday after a meeting between the caretaker Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policies and Minister of Transport Hristo Aleksiev, Munich Airport CEO Jost Lammers, and Sofia Airport CEO Jesus Caballero. Expert Magdalena Sokol already taught a premium customer service course, designed for employees who interact directly with passengers, Sofia Airport said on October 14.

Aleksiev expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of service provided at Sofia Airport. According to him, bigger effort should be made to improve the status quo. "For the last two years, there have been no major changes in this regard. I expect Munich Airport, as a project participant, to provide its knowledge, experience and best practices for the transformation of Sofia Airport," Aleksiev said.

Within two weeks Munich Airport will mobilize its expert teams to actively engage in improving the management and services offered at Sofia Airport.

The Minister reported that air services agreements were made with Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates, which he sees as an opportunity to raise the number of passengers.

Sofia Airport is still recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between January to September this year, nearly 1 million fewer passengers were handled compared to the same period from 2019, according to data released by the airport on October 10. There were 4,457,749 passengers handled in 2022. A total of 600,668 people passed through the capital's airport in September, or 3.5% less than the same period in 2019.

The 35-year concession agreement for Sofia Airport was signed with SOF Connect in July 2020. The consortium includes France's Meridiam Eastern Europe Investments SAS and Austria's Strabag, with Munich Airport as airport operator. The concession did not take effect until earlier this year, after all conditions were met by both sides.