May 22 (SeeNews) - Passenger numbers at Bulgaria's Sofia Airport shrank 94.2% year-on-year to just 34,403 in April, data from the airport operator showed.
Aircraft take-offs and landings decreased 78.3% year-on-year to 1,083 in April, Sofia Airport data shows.
Cargo handled at the airport fell 18.4% to 1,547 tonnes in April.
Bulgaria entered a two-month state of emergency on March 13, during which flights from the majority of destinations were cancelled.
Earlier this month, Bulgaria's government said that it has decided to reduce the taxes paid by air carriers for the use of Sofia Airport in 2020, in order to incentivise them to retain or even expand their flight network from Sofia.
In July 2019, Bulgaria's transport ministry picked a consortium led by French-based Meridiam Eastern European Investments as winner of a tender for awarding a 35-year concession contract to run Sofia Airport. The ministry's decision was appealed by all four other candidates, which filed bids for the contract, but their complaints were dismissed by the competition regulator. The regulator's decision was subsequently challenged in court.