site.btaSofia Airport Passenger Numbers Still Below 2019 Levels in October

Sofia Airport still cannot reach the pre-pandemic passenger traffic. It reported fewer handled passengers in October compared to the same month of 2019, its press office said.

A total of 569,426 passengers were handled in October 2022, down by 4.35% from three years earlier.

Passengers on international regular flights totalled 512,268, over 6% down on October 2019. The coastal airports of Varna and Burgas reported a decrease by nearly 14% to 17,632 passengers.

Charter flights performed best, reporting 31,773 passengers, up by nearly 37% from the reference period.

Aircraft takeoffs and landings in October numbered 4,945, down by 6.5% from 5,290 in October 2019.

Mail and cargo shipments handled by Sofia Airport dropped by over 22% from October 2019 to 1,742 tonnes.

The drop in passenger numbers compared to 2019 is largely due to people's fear of travelling due to COVID-19, and the war in Ukraine. Understaffed European airports, flight cancellations by some airlines, and high fuel prices are other causes for the decrease.