October 28 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's coastal airport of Varna has added five new direct routes to its winter 2019/2020 schedule ending March 31, the airport operator said on Monday.
The new destinations include Liverpool, Berlin-Schonefeld, Cologne, Hamburg and Paris Beauvais–Tille, Fraport Twin Star Airport Management said in a statement.
During the fortcoming winter season, Varna airport will service flights to 17 destinations, which marks a 60% increase compared to the previous winter season, Fraport Twin Star added.
The 2019/2020 winter schedule of Bulgaria's other coastal airport - in Burgas, also operated by Fraport Twin Star Airport Management, includes four weekly flights to Moscow, serviced by the S7 airline, and two weekly flights to London, serviced by WizzAir.
From the beginning of this year by the middle of October, each of the airports posted a 12% annual decrease in passenger traffic, Fraport said. The airport operator also said that passenger numbers at Varna and Burgas airports topped 1.8 million and 2.8 million, respectively, in the first nine months of the year.
In August, Fraport said that it expects the passenger traffic at the two Bulgarian airports to decrease by up to 10% year-on-year in 2019 after the airports posted a drop of 12.9% to 1.44 million on an annual basis in the first half of the year. The cancellation of WizzAir's service to Sofia, fewer travellers to and from Russia, Poland and Germany, the reduction in Ryanair flights as well as the resurgent tourism in Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt all had a negative impact on the passenger traffic at the airports of Varna and Burgas, Fraport said at the time.
Fraport Twin Star Airport Management, a 60/40 joint venture of Fraport and Bulgarian company BM Star, is operating the two airports under a 35-year concession awarded in 2006.