Sofia Airport passenger traffic lags pre-pandemic levels in Oct

In the first ten months of the year, passengers were 1 million fewer than in the same period three years ago, showing a slow recovery from the pandemic, SOF Connect said in a data release on Saturday.

Passengers on international scheduled flights numbered 512,268, or over 6% fewer than in October 2019, while domestic routes to and from Varna and Burgas on the Black Sea coast served 17,632 passengers, a decline of almost 14%.

Charter flights in October were the best-performing, ensuring a 37% jump in passenger numbers compared to pre-pandemic levels, to 31,773.

Aircraft take-offs and landings went down to 4,945 from 5,290 in October 2019, the airport operator added.

Cargo handled at the airport dropped by over 22% to 1,742 tonnes in the month under review.