September 13 (SeeNews) - Combined passenger numbers at the Bulgarian coastal airports of Varna and Burgas increased by 13.5% year-on-year to 4.47 million in the January-August period of 2018, Germany’s Fraport Group, which operates the airports, said on Thursday.
Passenger traffic at Burgas airport grew by an annual 9.7% to 2.72 million in the first eight months of the year, while passengers at Varna airport increased 19.8% to 1.75 million, Fraport said in a monthly statistical report.
In August alone, combined passenger traffic at the two airports rose 5.8% to 1.38 million.
Combined aircraft movements at the two airports rose by 11.5% on the year to 32,007 in January-August. At Burgas airport, aircraft take-offs and landings grew by 7.9% to 18,727, while at Varna airport aircraft movements increased 17% to 13,280.
Cargo handled at the two airports fell by 47.6% to 5,664 tonnes in the first eight months of the year.
Fraport Twin Star Airport Management told SeeNews earlier this year it plans to invest 256 million levs ($160.6 million/130.9 million euro) by 2027 in the two Bulgarian airports it operates.
In 2006, Fraport Twin Star Airport Management, a 60/40 joint venture of Fraport and Bulgarian company BM Star, won a 35-year concession to manage the two coastal airports.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)