December 13 (SeeNews) - Passenger numbers at Bulgaria's coastal airports of Varna and Burgas rose by an annual 59.3% to over 3 million in the eleven months through November, Germany's Fraport Group, the operator of the airports, said on Tuesday.
Passenger traffic at Varna Airport increased by 45.2% year-on-year to some 1.4 million in the January-November period, while the number of passengers at Burgas Airport jumped by a yearly 73.5% to roughly 1.64 million, Fraport Group said in a statement.
Cargo handled at both airports combined added 33.3% on the year to 6,105 tonnes in the review period. Aircraft take-offs and landings went up by 35.9% to 22,864.
In November alone, Varna Airport saw 81,984 passengers passing through, or a yearly surge of 82.2%. Meanwhile, Burgas Airport served 3,868 passengers or 46.3% fewer than in the same month of 2021.
Burgas and Varna airports are run by Fraport Twin Star Airport Management under a 35-year concession contract awarded in 2006. Fraport Twin Star Airport Management is a 60/40 joint venture of Fraport and Bulgarian company BM Star.
Fraport Group's airports worldwide showed continued growth in passenger numbers last month, driven mostly by holiday travel, although they were still 19.2% lower than in the pre-pandemic 2019.
Elsewhere in Southeast Europe, Fraport Group operates the airport in Slovenia's capital Ljubljana, as well as 14 airports in Greece. The group also runs an airport in Antalya, Turkey.
In November, two months after its concessions were extended to November 10, 2046, Fraport Twin Star Airport Management told SeeNews that the company plans to invest over 50 million euro ($52.65 million) in Bulgaria’s Burgas Airport and more than 20 million euro in Varna Airport over the next five years.
Fraport Twin Star a 60/40 joint venture of Germany's Fraport and Bulgarian company BM Star.
($ = 0.949566 euro)