March 14 (SeeNews) - Passenger numbers at Bulgaria's Sofia Airport totalled 495,214 in February, still below the number registered in the same month of pre-pandemic 2019, the airport operator SOF Connect said on Tuesday.
In comparison, Sofia Airport served 497,999 passengers in February 2019, according to earlier data reported by SOF Connect.
International scheduled flights edged up by almost 1% last month from the level achieved in February 2019, reaching 463,405 passengers in total, concessionaire SOF Connect said in an emailed statement. Passengers on domestic routes to and from the coastal airports in Varna and Burgas reported a nearly 24% drop from February 2019.
Charter flights declined by 22% to 88, while the number of passengers on them fell by 17% to 15,740, as a result of the continued lack of snow at Bulgaria's winter resorts.
At 4,011, aircraft take-offs and landings at the Bulgarian capital's airport in February were nearly 6% fewer compared to the same month of 2019. Cargo handled at the airport recorded the highest decrease, of 24% to 1,451 tonnes, according to the statement.