Varna Airport

Varna Airport (Bulgarian: Летище Варна, romanized: Letishte Varna) (IATA: VAR, ICAO: LBWN) is the airport of Varna, the historical maritime capital of Bulgaria. Varna Airport is the third largest airport in Bulgaria. It is located 10 kilometers from the center of Varna near the town of Aksakovo. The airport serves Varna, Golden Sands and northeastern Bulgaria. The busiest season for the airport is from the end of May to the beginning of October.

Varna Airport Летище Варна
IATA: VAR ICAO: LBWN
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	State-owned
Operator	Fraport Twin Star Airport Management AD
Serves	Varna
Location	Varna, Bulgaria
Opened	9 May 1948 (1948-05-09)
Time zone	EET (+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (+3)
Elevation AMSL	70 m / 230 ft
Coordinates	43°13′55″N 27°49′31″E
Website	varna-airport.bg
Map
VAR Location of airport in Bulgaria Show map of Bulgaria VAR Location of airport on the Black Sea Show map of Black Sea
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 09/27 2,517 8,258 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Passengers 1,838,828 Passenger change 22-23 46.9% Aircraft movements 13,850 Movements change 22-23 23.6% Cargo (t) 62 Cargo change 22-23 39.8%
Source: Bulgarian AIP at EUROCONTROL

History

In 2013, a new passenger terminal [Terminal 2] opened and the Terminal 1 constructed In 1972 permanently closed while Terminal 3 opened in 2007, so Varna Airport had only 1 terminal before 2007.^{[citation needed]}

There are domestic and international flights from Varna to about 70 destinations in 25 countries, with Bulgarian and foreign airlines. The airport is close to the Port of Varna and the railway system. The airport has one asphalt-covered runway 09/27 with ILS CAT I system on 09 edge and a parking apron for 24 aircraft. In June 2006 the Bulgarian Government awarded Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide a 40-year-long concession on both Varna and Burgas airports in return for investments exceeding €500 million, including a new passenger terminal by 2008.^{[citation needed]}

From 15 October 2011 until 28 February 2012, Varna airport was closed for a reconstruction of the runway. All flights were operated to/from Burgas Airport.^[1]

In 2016 the airport handled 1,689,595 passengers - a 20.8% increase compared to 2015.^{[citation needed]}

On June 16, 2023 at Varna Airport, "Fraport Twin Star Airport Management" AD officially opened the completely renewed Taxiway (ECHO).^{[citation needed]}

Terminals

The airport has three terminals: Terminal 1, built in 1972 (closed), Terminal 3 (opened in June 2007), which was used during the summer season, and the new Terminal 2, opened in August 2013.

Terminal 1

Terminal 1 (closed) was extended several times over the years. The departures area had 21 check-in counters and six security checkpoints. In the terminal there were various outlets: cafes, fast food restaurants, currency exchange, and duty-free shops. There were ten boarding gates. The arrivals area had two luggage belts, as well as currency exchange and a tax-free shop. Terminal 1 still has a VIP room and business lounge. In 2010, the VIP room was renovated. As of 2014, all flights, including no-frills, are handled at Terminal 2. Hence, the old terminal is closed except the VIP area.

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 started operations on 18 August 2013. In December 2011 the construction work on the new Terminal 2 began. T2 has a capacity of 1,800,000 passengers per year and 25 check-in desks. It covers an area of 18,000 square metres. T2's buildings are designed so that their capacity can be increased as an extension to the existing architectural part.^{[clarification needed]} The first passenger service on T2 was a domestic flight to Sofia operated by the national carrier Bulgaria Air and first international passengers served were on a Belavia flight from Minsk. T2 was designed by London-based architecture firm Pascall+Watson. ^{[citation needed]}

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Varna Airport:^[2]

Airlines	Destinations
Air Serbia	Seasonal: Belgrade[3]
Austrian Airlines	Vienna[4]
Bulgaria Air	Sofia[5] Seasonal: Frankfurt,[6] Paris–Charles de Gaulle,[7] Prague[6]
Discover Airlines	Seasonal: Frankfurt,[8] Munich[9]
Edelweiss Air	Seasonal: Zürich[10]
Electra Airways	Seasonal: Cologne/Bonn (begins 17 May 2025),[11] Stuttgart (begins 16 May 2025)[12][13]
Enter Air	Seasonal charter: Gdańsk,[citation needed] Katowice,[citation needed] Warsaw–Chopin,[citation needed] Wrocław[citation needed]
Eurowings	Seasonal: Cologne/Bonn,[14] Düsseldorf,[15] Hamburg,[citation needed] Stuttgart[16]
Fly Lili	Seasonal charter: Hannover[17]
Freebird Airlines Europe	Seasonal charter: Leipzig/Halle[citation needed]
Israir	Tel Aviv[18]
LOT Polish Airlines	Seasonal charter: Katowice,[citation needed] Warsaw-Chopin,[citation needed] Wrocław[citation needed]
Luxair	Seasonal: Luxembourg[19]
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Seasonal: Oslo[20]
Ryanair	Seasonal: Katowice,[21] Kraków,[22] Vienna[23]
SAS Scandinavian Airlines	Seasonal: Copenhagen (begins 26 June 2025)[24]
Smartwings	Seasonal: Brno,[25] Ostrava,[26] Prague[27] Seasonal charter: Karlovy Vary[28]
Sunclass Airlines	Seasonal charter: Bergen,[29] Copenhagen,[citation needed] Helsinki,[30] Oslo,[citation needed] Stavanger,[citation needed] Stockholm–Arlanda,[citation needed] Trondheim[citation needed]
Sundair	Seasonal: Berlin,[citation needed] Bremen,[31] Dresden
Transavia	Seasonal: Paris–Orly[32]
TUI fly Belgium	Seasonal: Brussels[33]
TUI fly Deutschland	Seasonal: Hannover[34]
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul[35]
Volotea	Seasonal: Lille,[citation needed] Nantes[citation needed]
Wizz Air	Abu Dhabi,[36] Berlin, Charleroi, Eindhoven, Hahn,[37] Hamburg, Leipzig/Halle (begins 29 April 2025),[37] London–Gatwick, London–Luton, Memmingen, Nuremberg,[37] Tel Aviv[37]

Statistics

The runway

Terminal 2 gate area

Airport building by night

Traffic

Annual passenger traffic at VAR airport. See Wikidata query.

Traffic at Varna Airport

Year	Passengers	Change	Cargo (tonnes)	Change	Aircraft movements	Change
1998	273,678		114		8,920
1999	511,819	87.0%	0	100.0%	9,030	1.2%
2000	691,689	35.1%	0		9,425	4.4%
2001	932,549	34.8%	160	16000.0%	9,549	1.3%
2002	1,090,709	16.9%	85	46.9%	9,006	5.7%
2003	1,186,349	8.8%	0	100.0%	10,107	12.2%
2004	1,337,145	12.7%	136	13600.0%	11,277	11.6%
2005	1,546,925	15.7%	19	86.0%	13,616	20.7%
2006	1,522,658	1.6%	289	1421.0%	14,721	8.1%
2007	1,478,093	2.9%	150	48.1%	14,971	1.7%
2008	1,432,703	3.1%	1,004	569.3%	15,129	1.1%
2009	1,206,535	15.8%	89	91.1%	12,699	16.1%
2010	1,198,956	0.6%	83	6.7%	12,601	1.0%
2011	1,165,304	2.8%	41	50.6%	11,263	10.4%
2012	1,212,215	4.0%	33	19.5%	10,739	4.7%
2013	1,303,865	7.6%	35	6.1%	11,516	7.2%
2014	1,387,494	5.2%	74	111.4%	12,063	4.7%[38]
2015	1,398,694	0.8%	118	57.2%	11,959	0.9%
2016	1,689,595	20.8%	3,293	2690.7%	14,818	23.9%
2017	1,970,700	16.6%	293	91.0%	15,950	7.6%[39]
2018	2,281,134	15.8%	136	40.6%	17,776	11.4%
2019	2,084,319	8.7%	123	9.3%	15,468	13.0%
2020	622,215	70.1%	44	64.1%	6,881	55.5%
2021	1,010,494	62.4%	34	23.9%	9,239	34.3%
2022	1,484,186	46.9%	104	205.8%	11,420	23.6%[39]
2023	1,838,828	23.9%	62	39.8%	13,850	21.3%[39]
2024	1,556,798	-15.3%	136	119.4%	12,282	-11.3%[39]

Top 5 Markets (2023)^[40]

Rank	Destination
1	Germany
2	Poland
3	Bulgaria
4	United Kingdom
5	Turkey[41]

Ground transport

Bus line 409 connects the airport with Varna city center and resorts nearby (route: Varna Airport – Mall Varna – Varna Bus Station / Grand Mall – City Center – Saints Constantine and Helena - Golden Sands).^[42]

Incidents and accidents

• On 7 March 1983, Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Flight 013 was hijacked by four men armed with knives. While they demanded to be taken to Vienna, the pilots tricked the hijackers by landing in Varna. Security forces stormed the plane, arresting three hijackers and killing one hijacker who was threatening the flight attendant.
• On 5 June 1992, Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Tupolev 154B overran runway 27 in bad weather conditions. There were no casualties, but the plane was written off.^[43]
• On 24 May 2013, Air VIA flight 502 from Leipzig/Halle to Varna overran runway 09 at Varna Airport after touchdown. Two passengers were injured during evacuation.^[44][45]
• On July 8, 2014, Lars Mittank, a German vacationing in Golden Sands, mysteriously disappeared near Varna Airport. Mittank had been alone in Bulgaria the previous two days and reported to be behaving strangely, and was last seen on security cameras fleeing from the airport into the surrounding forest.

See also

• List of airports in Bulgaria
• List of airlines of Bulgaria
• List of the busiest airports in Europe by passenger traffic