February 9 (SeeNews) - The European Commission said on Thursday that it approved a Bulgarian state aid scheme worth 5.8 million euro ($6.2 million) in support of the airports in Burgas and Varna in the context of the war in Ukraine.
The state support mechanism will take the form of a deferral of the concession fee payments due by Fraport Twin Star Airport Management, the operator of the two airports, the Commission said in a press release.
The scheme aims to address liquidity shortages at the two airports on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast which resulted from the closure to Russian aircraft of Ukraine's and Europe's airspace in the wake of the Russian invasion last February. The measure will cut the costs of airspace closures borne by the airport operator.
Fraport Twin Star Airport Management is a 60/40 joint venture of Germany's Fraport Group and Bulgaria's BM Star. The company operates the airports in Burgas and Varna under a concession contract which was awarded in 2006 and was last year extended to November 10, 2046.
In late 2022, Fraport Twin Star told SeeNews it will invest over 70 million euro in the two airports over the next five years, including for installing an in-house solar PV system. The two airports increased their combined passenger numbers by an annual 59% to 3.1 million in 2022, the concession holder announced last month.
($ = 0.9288 euro)