SOF Connect - Short Company profile

Sofia Airport handled a record number of passengers in August 2026, according to data from the concessionaire SOF Connect. During the busiest month of the summer season, 853,233 passengers passed through the airport's terminals—the highest monthly figure recorded since 2019. It was the best month in the airport's recent history. By comparison, 766,901 passengers were handled in August 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 86,332 people, or approximately 11.3%. The growth is even more pronounced when compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, when the airport handled 674,443 passengers in August; thus, August 2026 saw nearly 179,000 more passengers—an increase of about 26.5% over 2019 levels. From January through August 2026, 5.96 million passengers passed through the capital's airport. During the same period in 2025, the figure was approximately 5.51 million, marking an 8.1% annual increase. Aircraft movements totaled 47,217 for the first eight months of 2026, compared to 45,182 in the same period of 2025 and 41,258 in 2019. This represents a year-on-year growth of approximately 4.5% and an increase of over 14% compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019. The growth in passenger traffic is outpacing the growth in the number of aircraft movements. In August 2026, for instance, there was an average of approximately 133 passengers per aircraft movement, compared to around 125 a year earlier. This indicates that the rise in passenger traffic is not solely attributable to an increase in the number of flights; the data also reflects a higher average load factor for aircraft movements. Data for 2025 reveals the busiest international routes from Sofia. London is the clear leader, with 357,674 departing passengers from "Vasil Levski" Airport, followed by Vienna (216,000), Istanbul (204,349), and Frankfurt (173,638). Milan, Tel Aviv, Rome, Munich, Barcelona, ??and Varna also feature in the top 10. The growth in passenger traffic holds direct economic significance for the capital's airport, which is managed by the concessionaire SOF Connect. The concessionaire assumed management of the airport in April 2021 for a 35-year term. Subsequently, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government negotiated a deferral for a portion of the concession payments, thereby postponing the fixed annual concession fee for a specific period. As early as 2025, the Ministry of Transport and Communications insisted that the Sofia Airport concessionaire begin paying the full concession fee starting January 1, 2026, given that the passenger volume of 8.4 million in 2025 significantly exceeded the pre-pandemic figure of 7.1 million recorded in 2019. Nevertheless, the concessionaire continues to benefit from the 10-year payment deferral approved by the "Borisov 3" cabinet. This issue is particularly relevant in light of current traffic data. Throughout 2025, the capital's airport handled over 8.4 million passengers—well above the 7.1 million seen in 2019. Thus, in 2026, Sofia Airport continues to set new passenger traffic records, even as the state anticipates the resumption of concession payments.