November 21 (SeeNews) - Passenger numbers at Bulgaria's Sofia Airport totalled 569,426 in October 2022, which was 4.35% less than recorded in the same month of pre-pandemic 2019, the airport operator SOF Connect said.
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.