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Sofia Airport Upgrades Category, Delayed and Canceled Flights to Diminish

Monday, Oct 20, 2008

Sofia airport has been granted a 3A category, meaning that airplanes could land with a visibility a slow as 200 meters.

The news was announced by Bulgaria's Transport Minister Petar Mutafchiev Sunday. Mutafchiev participated in the presentation of the military "Albatross F2" plane in the village of Chernogorovo.The plane is a replica of the plane used by the Bulgarian Army during the Balkan War. On October 16, 1912, "Albatross F2" realized one of the first flights in the world when an aircraft was used for military action. The replica has been made by the non-profit organization "Avio relics."

After its renovation the airport in Sofia had a category 1 permitting lending of airplanes with visibility of 550 meters or more. The Transport Ministry then had established a goal of upgrading the airport's category and providing better landing conditions, according to Mutafchiev.

The Minister reminded that the location of the airport posed many obstacles for the category upgrade because the foggy conditions at Sofia's airport are much more frequent than at other airports in the country. Despite that, the Sofia airport became the first airport in Bulgaria to have a category 3A, which means that the number of canceled or delayed flights would be significantly reduced.

The next step, according to Mutafchiev, is the acquisition of a category 3B, which so far has been granted to only 10 airports in Europe. In order to obtain a category 3B, the road to Sofia airport must be changed as well.

Source: Sofia News Agency