The concessionaire of Burgas Airport “Fraport Twin Star Airport Management” JSC came out with an official position in relation to the criticisms that were made by mayors, hoteliers and representatives of the tourism industry in the last week / see here, here and here.
Here is what Fraport shares, without editorial intervention:
In connection with the media statements about Burgas Airport in the last week, “Fraport Twin Star Airport Management” AD once again emphasizes its commitment as a responsible concessionaire and employer to continue increasing the year-round traffic and connectivity of Burgas Airport.
“Fraport Twin Star Airport Management” AD has and will renew the infrastructure of Burgas Airport as a modern and attractive airport for airlines and passengers, meeting all safety and security requirements, as this is priority #1 for the company.
“Fraport Twin Star Airport Management” JSC is part of “Fraport Group”, which in 2023 served about 132 million passengers in more than 30 airports.
The development of Burgas Airport in accordance with international rules is a mandatory condition and has been carried out in close cooperation with the Ministry of Transport and Communications since the beginning of the concession in 2006, based on our Concession Agreement.
Since the beginning of the concession in 2006, over 110 million euros have been invested in Burgas Airport projects. For the period from 2022 to 2026, “Fraport Twin Star Airport Management” AD has committed to invest over 50 million euros (of which over 7 million euros have already been invested) in Burgas Airport.
A major project planned for safety reasons is the complete rehabilitation of the runway. No final decision has been made on this project and the coordination with the state authorities has not passed.
In this regard, “Fraport Twin Star Airport Management” AD once again assures all interested parties that any suspension of flights at Burgas Airport, due to repair works, will be planned extremely carefully and confirms its commitment that the temporary closure of the airport for flights will be for the shortest possible time and it will not be during an active summer season!
Avoiding the impact on traffic and tourism is a top priority during the rehabilitation of the track and all other repair works.
Investment project planning is carried out by specialists with international experience from “Fraport Group” and renowned external companies, in accordance with all applicable national and European legislation.
We remind you that in the winter of 2011-2012, a complete rehabilitation of the Varna Airport runway was carried out, which led to the closure of flights for nearly half a year, during which traffic was directed to Burgas Airport.
Burgas Airport is a passenger airport with limited cargo traffic. In 2023, it served more passengers than Varna Airport – as in almost all years since 2006 – and such are the forecasts for 2024 as well.
There was never an attempt to transfer the traffic from Burgas to Varna. The public speculations about the limitation of Burgas Airport to cargo traffic only are absolutely groundless and harmful to the development of tourism.
“Fraport Twin Star Airport Management” JSC emphasizes that only the airlines decide whether to open or close new routes or to increase or decrease traffic by volume or in year-round routes. Airlines make their decision to use Burgas Airport solely on the basis of commercial considerations.
Burgas Airport traffic is promoted every year by “Fraport Twin Star Airport Management” AD in the most significant international aviation forums and tourist events.
In addition, airlines and tour operators are often asked and proposals are made for new itineraries, including year-round, following the best practices in the aviation sector.
This includes close cooperation with national authorities such as the Ministry of Tourism, national and international tour operators, municipalities and associations in the tourism sector.
“Fraport Twin Star Airport Management” JSC together with partners founded the Alliance Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and jointly with the Ministry of Tourism organized road shows in Poland, Germany and Great Britain with hoteliers and tour operators, invited travel journalists and tour operators to personally experience the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast with its tourist data, as well as being involved in various marketing activities in the countries from which there is an influx of tourists.
All this is done in order to attract airlines for new routes, more traffic and especially year-round traffic.
“Fraport Twin Star Airport Management” JSC supports the interested parties in their efforts to develop tourism along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast and remains open to any future cooperation in this direction.
This includes the development of winter traffic at Burgas Airport, which has historically never been intense, as the longest served routes are the existing and currently London Luton – Burgas (16 consecutive years) and the currently suspended Moscow – Burgas (11 years), because of the sanctions against the Russian Federation.
“Fraport Twin Star Airport Management” JSC is doing everything in its power to increase winter traffic.
In order to create a better public understanding of traffic development and investment projects, “Fraport Twin Star Airport Management” AD will communicate its efforts in detail with the media, municipalities and tourism stakeholders.
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