Sofia Airport
I1 i3
I8 i10 i12
Sofia Airport ( Bulgarian Летище София / Sofia Letischte ), also airport Sofia - Vrazhdebna (Bulgarian: Летище София - Враждебна, Letishte Sofiya- Vrazhdebna ), named after the lying north of the airport development, is a Bulgarian airport in Sofia. He is the main airport of the country and home base for the three Bulgarian Airlines Bulgaria Air ( FB / LZB ), Hemus Air ( DU / HMS) and Viaggio Air ( VM / VOA ). At its opening in 1935 of the Sofia Airport was the first major international airport in Bulgaria.
Recently, the airport came across size bottlenecks and could not cope with today's passenger and aircraft numbers. For this reason, it was decided after exclusion of many different possibilities that would have been outstanding up to 70 km away from Sofia to expand the existing airport. Therefore, a second terminal was on 27 December 2006, in time for the accession of Bulgaria to the EU, opens.
In addition, Bulgaria has international airports in Varna, Burgas and Plovdiv, which play an important role for tourism.
Transport links
The airport is located 10 km east of downtown Sofia and can be reached via the old airport expressway. Coming soon, especially the new Terminal 2 will also be connected via a completely new highway with the city center.
The private taxis offered by rogue taxi companies in the reception halls usually demand extortionate rates, which are about ten times more than the usual. Sofia Airport is committed to combat this problem by specially equipped taxi counter.
Two bus lines connect the airport with downtown Sofia. Line 84 operates between the main building of the Sofia University and Terminal 1 and 2 ( ring bus ) every 15 minutes 5:00 to 23:30 clock. The journey takes about 20-30 minutes. The line 384 since October 15, 2012 connects the two terminals with the last station of the Sofia metro every 30 minutes 5:00 to 10:00 and 17:00 to 19:00 clock.
It is planned to expand the Sofia metro line 1-2015 to the airport. Construction began in 2013 and the opening is scheduled for early 2015. The metro station is located above ground are right next to Terminal 2.
Between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 runs 7:00 to 18:45 clock a free 8- seater vans every 30 minutes, the bus stops are signposted. In the remaining time, a trip by phone or at the counter of the airport information be requested.
Extension
Mid-2006 was opened a completely new runway in Sofia, was construction of which commenced in mid- 2005. It has been designed by the length of her even for large, modern aircraft such as the Airbus A380. The old runway is now used as a link to the new.
In addition, the Austrian construction company Strabag built by the end of 2006, a completely new terminal building.
Furthermore, a new highway was planned to be completed in the course of 2007 and should serve especially for the new terminal building. The terminal is to be connected faster and more comfortable with the old airport expressway and thus to the old terminal and downtown Sofia. The construction was canceled for lack of money, a completion is not foreseeable for the next time.
Terminal 1
Terminal 1 was opened in 1935 and served from the outset as both national as well as international terminal. It was the first large terminal building of Bulgaria and at that time a true traffic sensation.
The old terminal is located at the end of the old airport road and still forms the core of a constantly expanding industrial area. In its neighborhood there are many airport's buildings and a variety of facilities and complexes that have directly or indirectly to do with aviation.
The terminal building has seven outputs through which the passengers will be taken to their aircraft by using shuttle buses. In addition, the terminal has one over 20 check -in desks.
Terminal 1 has a classical dichotomy, which is found mainly on small airports in Eastern Europe. Here, Abflieger and Ankommerbereich are to each other in close proximity, but are completely separate from each other.
Front of the terminal there is an open, uncovered parking, which is now only used by relatively few motor vehicles.
The terminal was repeatedly rebuilt and expanded. After the collapse of the communist regime in Bulgaria, especially the then very strict border controls at entry and exit to western standards have been or converted.
Finally, the terminal received a new front end of the check- in area, where today the information desk of the airlines are housed. It is a modern glass and steel structure. In the same style of collector area of Ankommergebäudes was rebuilt. This last renovations are, however, already back almost ten years.
Since April 2007 the old terminal is used only for the flights of low cost airlines.
Terminal 2
Terminal 2 was built until November 2006 and officially inaugurated on 27 December 2006. The first parked at the terminal plane was a machine of Bulgaria Air (flight number FB 408), the symbolic arrived from Brussels.
The terminal building and all related facilities are located on a formerly unused until the start of construction became stranded. This was the architect Cheerful and punch a difficult task, because the first had to be prepared all the requirements needed for the new building.
The terminal was built for approximately EUR 135 million and one of the largest projects in Bulgaria, some of which were financed by funds from the EU ISPA program. This price includes not only the cost of the new terminal building, but also the additional newly built aircraft parking positions, an extension of the existing parking positions and the new runways that connects the new terminal with the old building and the two runways.
The new terminal is compared to the old building much larger and is located east of this. It has next five shuttle -bus outputs (one of which, separated from the others, for national routes, thus no passport control ), seven passenger boarding bridges or fingers, so-called gates and is therefore Bulgaria's first airport terminal in which the passengers no longer just be brought to their aircraft on shuttle buses. It also has 34 check- in counters and is built on a total area of almost 50,000 m².
An underground car park on four floors and a capacity of 820 parking spaces was also built. He is said to be today's passenger car and bus capacities of airport visitors' needs.
Terminal 2 has a modern design. Through the contemporary division, in contrast to the old terminal building, the opportunity to enter the entire public sector. The facilities of the new terminals are spread over three levels. In the main area there is a large atrium, which, like the rest of the building is surrounded by large picture windows and thus flooded with natural light.
Because the terminal 2 of Bulgaria 's first passenger terminal building on multiple - levels, it was particularly important for the architect to make each level for disabled people accessible. For this reason, all the floors of the terminal and the underground floors of the parking garage with elevators, in addition also connected in the aerial terminal floors with escalators.
The power for the terminal building and its surrounding facilities, it is recovered to a large extent from solar panels on the roof of the building. In this way the terminal is operated very energy efficient and environmentally friendly.
The new passenger terminal is designed for a passenger capacity of about 2,000 per hour and 2.6 million per year. At the same time 26,000 tons of cargo to be handled in him.
In the summer of 2009, the remodeled advance was opened in front of Terminal 2. Covering an area of about 145 ha was a landscape park, opened an amphitheater for concerts, observation tower and an artificial lake. The lake is connected by a pumping station situated close to the river Iskar. On the grounds between the terminal and the park the last station of the planned extension of the Sofia subway will be built. Construction began in 2013, the opening is planned for early 2015.
Since April 2007, the new terminal for the Flights of national and international scheduled airlines serving.