Hemus Air

Hemus Air (Bulgarian title: Хемус Ер) was an airline based in Sofia, Bulgaria. It operated scheduled domestic and international services from Sofia and Varna, as well as charter, cargo and air ambulance services. Its main base was Sofia Airport, with a hub at Varna Airport.^[1] After the acquisition of Bulgaria Air, all of Hemus Air's destinations are now under the plate of Bulgaria Air.

Hemus Air
Хемус Ер

IATA ICAO Call sign DU HMS HEMUS AIR
Founded	1986 (1986)
Commenced operations	1986 (1986)
Ceased operations	2014 (2014) (merged into Bulgaria Air)
Hubs	Sofia Airport
Focus cities	Varna Airport
Subsidiaries	Viaggio Air
Fleet size	12
Headquarters	Sofia, Bulgaria
Website	www.air.bg

History

Hemus Air, named after the ancient name for the Balkan mountains, is owned by Varna-based industrial/financial enterprise TIM.^[2] The airline was established and started operations in 1986, when it branched off from Balkan Bulgarian Airlines. It initially operated as a separate department providing ambulance services, flight calibration and aerial photography. In 1996 it became a separate legal entity from Balkan and was named Hemus Air.^[1] The company was privatized by Bulgarian corporate investors in 2002 and has faced stiff competition from foreign carriers, as well as the newly established successor of Balkan, Bulgaria Air.

Hemus Air's management pledged to unite the major Bulgarian airlines and was selected as the preferred bidder for the sale of Bulgaria Air by the Bulgarian government. In November 2006, Balkan Hemus Group sealed a deal to purchase Bulgaria Air with a 99.99% share of the airline for €6.6 million. The new airline will operate under the Bulgaria Air brand.^[3] Hemus promised to invest a further €86m over the next five years. Hemus and Bulgaria Air began to coordinate their schedules and operations in 2007. As of February 2009, all Hemus Air aircraft are operating for the parent company, Bulgaria Air.

Destinations

All Hemus Air destinations are now operated under the commercial brand of Bulgaria Air.

Fleet

A Hemus Air Boeing 737-400 landing at Ruzyně Airport, Czech Republic (2005)

Hemus Air BAe146-200

The Hemus Air fleet includes the following aircraft (at July 2012):^[4][5]

Hemus Air fleet

Aircraft	Total	Passengers	Routes	Notes
Airbus A319-100	2	144	Short-Medium haul Europe and Middle East	Operating for Bulgaria Air
ATR 42-300	1	46	Short haul Balkans	stored at Sofia Airport
Avro RJ70	1	26	Short haul VIP	Operating private and VIP charters
BAe146-200	3	90	Short-Medium haul Europe	Operating for Bulgaria Air, 2 are stored at Sofia Airport
BAe146-300	3	110	Short haul Europe	Operating for Bulgaria Air
Total	10

Most of these aircraft are operating for Bulgaria Air until the two airlines merge; then they will all be transferred to Bulgaria Air's fleet.

Retired fleet

• Boeing 737-300
• Boeing 737-400
• Tupolev Tu-134
• Tupolev Tu-154
• Yakovlev Yak-40
• Let L-410 Turbolet

Accidents and incidents

• On 2 August 1988, Yak-40 LZ-DOK failed to get airborne and crashed after it overran the runway at Sofia Airport, killing 29 of 37 on board. All civil traffic had been halted at Sofia Airport to allow Todor Zhivkov's Tu-154 to take off. But the Tu-154 was delayed, so ATC cleared the Yak-40 to take off "as quickly as possible". In their haste, the crew forgot to set the trim correctly.^{[6][nb 1]}
• Hemus Air Flight 7081 was hijacked en route from Beirut International Airport to Varna on 3 September 1996. The hijacker, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, allowed the 150 passengers to leave the aircraft at Varna and he and the eight crew members continued to Oslo Airport, Gardermoen where he gave up. He initially claimed that he only wanted to seek asylum, but he later claimed he was under orders to crash the aircraft into Oslo.^[8][9]

Notes

1. Flight International stated that the operating company was Balkan Airlines (the parent company of Hemus Air on this date), that the aircraft crashed due to an aborted takeoff following an engine fire, and that the death toll was 27, plus five more who died in hospital.^[7]