August 13 (SeeNews) - Combined passenger numbers at the Bulgarian coastal airports of Varna and Burgas increased by 17.3% year-on-year to 3.09 million in the January-July period of 2018, Germany’s Fraport Group, which operates the airports, said on Monday.
Passenger traffic at Burgas airport grew by an annual 12.1% to 1.81 million in the first seven months of the year, while passengers at Varna airport increased 25.6% to 1.28 million, Fraport said in a monthly statistical report.
In July alone, combined passenger traffic at the two airports rose 7.3% to 1.44 million.
Combined aircraft movements at the two airports rose by 13.4% on the year to 22,891 in January-July. At Burgas airport, aircraft take-offs and landings grew by 8.4% to 12,868, while at Varna airport aircraft movements increased 20.6% to 10,023.
Cargo handled at the two airports decreased by 44.5% to 5,034 tonnes in the first seven 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)