Air France, ITA, Ryanair Launching Sofia, Bulgaria Routes

Credit: Dimitar Atanassov / Alamy Stock Photo

Air France flights from Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and ITA Airways service from Rome Fiumicino (FCO) are set to launch to Sofia (SOF) in Bulgaria.

Air France is resuming CDG-SOF service with daily flights from May 30, according to SOF. ITA is launching an FCO-SOF route from June 1 with 6X-weekly service.

Meanwhile, Ryanair is operating 2X-weekly service between SOF and Zadar (ZAD) in Croatia as part of the LCC’s summer schedule. The SOF-ZAD route is a new one for the Bulgarian capital city.

Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines will launch 2X-weekly service between Antalya (AYT) in Turkey and SOF from May 24. This will be Pegasus’ first time serving SOF, according to the airport.

Ryanair also started 2X-weekly seasonal domestic flights from SOF to the Bulgarian Black Sea coast city of Varna (VAR) on May 1. Bulgaria Air will fly daily on the SOF-VAR route. Bulgaria Air will also launch a daily domestic route between SOF and Burgas (BOJ) from June 17.

“We are implementing our strategy to better connect Sofia with the world and we are seeing the first good results,” Sofia Airport CEO Jesus Caballero said in a statement. “New airlines and new destinations are in our summer schedule. This is great news for passengers, for the airport and for Bulgaria because air connectivity brings not only convenience for tourists and business, but also economic and social added value for the whole society.”

Aaron Karp

Aaron Karp is a Contributing Editor to the Aviation Week Network.