Varna Airport

Airport in Bulgaria From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

AirporttypePublic
OwnerState-owned
OperatorFraport Twin Star Airport Management AD
ServesVarna
Quick facts Летище Варна, Summary ...
Varna Airport
Летище Варна
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerState-owned
OperatorFraport Twin Star Airport Management AD
ServesVarna
LocationVarna, Bulgaria
Opened9 May 1948 (1948-05-09)
Time zoneEET (+2)
 • Summer (DST)EEST (+3)
Elevation AMSL70 m (230 ft)
Coordinates43°13′55″N 27°49′31″E
Websitevarna-airport.bg
Map
VAR is located in Bulgaria
VAR
VAR
Location of airport in Bulgaria
VAR is located in Black Sea
VAR
VAR
Location of airport on the Black Sea
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
09/27 2,517 8,258 Asphalt
Statistics (2025)
Passengers1,865,319
Passenger change 2024–25Increase19.8%
Cargo (t)195
Cargo change 2024–25Increase43.4%
Instrument landing systemILS Category I, runway 09
Terminal buildings3; Terminal 2 for commercial use
Gates10
Terminal 2 construction costMore than BGN 75 million (EUR 35 million)
Sources: Bulgarian AIP at EUROCONTROL; 2025 traffic figures from Fraport Bulgaria.[1]
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History

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.[2]

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Varna Airport:

More information Airlines, Destinations ...
AirlinesDestinations
Air Serbia Seasonal: Belgrade[3]
Austrian Airlines Vienna[4]
Bulgaria Air Sofia[5]
Seasonal: Frankfurt,[6] Paris–Charles de Gaulle,[6] Prague[6]
Discover Airlines Seasonal: Frankfurt,[7] Munich[7]
Edelweiss Air Seasonal: Zürich[8]
Electra Airways Seasonal: Cologne/Bonn,[9] Stuttgart[10]
Eurowings Seasonal: Cologne/Bonn,[11] Düsseldorf,[12] Hamburg,[13] Stuttgart[14]
Fly Lili Seasonal charter: Hannover[15]
GetJet Airlines Seasonal charter: Vilnius[16]
Israir Tel Aviv[17]
LOT Polish Airlines Seasonal charter: Warsaw[18]
Luxair Seasonal: Luxembourg[19]
Norwegian Air Shuttle Seasonal: Oslo[20]
Ryanair Seasonal: Katowice,[21] Kraków[22]
Scandinavian Airlines Seasonal: Copenhagen[23]
Smartwings Seasonal: Brno,[24] Ostrava,[25] Prague[26]
Seasonal charter: Karlovy Vary[27]
Sunclass Airlines Seasonal charter: Bergen,[28] Helsinki[29]
Sundair Seasonal: Bremen[30]
Sundor Seasonal: Tel Aviv[31]
Transavia Seasonal: Paris–Orly[32]
TUI fly Belgium Seasonal: Brussels[33]
TUI fly Deutschland Seasonal: Hannover[34]
Turkish Airlines Istanbul[7]
Volotea Seasonal: Lille,[35] Nantes[36]
Wizz Air Basel (begins 27 October 2026),[37]Berlin,[38] Bratislava,[39] Brussels–Charleroi,[40] Dortmund,[41] Eindhoven,[40] Frankfurt–Hahn,[42] Hamburg,[43] London–Luton,[42] Memmingen,[42] Milan–Bergamo,[43] Nuremberg[43]
Seasonal: Athens,[44] Barcelona,[44] Budapest,[45] Debrecen,[44] Gdańsk,[44] Katowice,[46] Larnaca (begins 30 March 2027),[47] Paris–Beauvais,[44] Rome–Fiumicino,[48] Tel Aviv,[42] Warsaw–Modlin,[49] Wrocław[50]
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Statistics

Traffic

PassengersYear300,000600,000900,0001,200,0001,500,0001,800,0002,100,0002,400,0001995200020052010201520202025PassengersAnnual passenger traffic
The runway
Terminal 2 gate area
Airport building by night
More information Year, Passengers ...
Traffic at Varna Airport
Year Passengers Change Cargo (tonnes) Change Aircraft movements Change
1998273,678Steady114Steady8,920Steady
1999511,819Increase87.0%0Decrease100.0%9,030Increase1.2%
2000691,689Increase35.1%0Steady9,425Increase4.4%
2001932,549Increase34.8%160Increase16000.0%9,549Increase1.3%
20021,090,709Increase16.9%85Decrease46.9%9,006Decrease5.7%
20031,186,349Increase8.8%0Decrease100.0%10,107Increase12.2%
20041,337,145Increase12.7%136Increase13600.0%11,277Increase11.6%
20051,546,925Increase15.7%19Decrease86.0%13,616Increase20.7%
20061,522,658Decrease1.6%289Increase1421.0%14,721Increase8.1%
20071,478,093Decrease2.9%150Decrease48.1%14,971Increase1.7%
20081,432,703Decrease3.1%1,004Increase569.3%15,129Increase1.1%
20091,206,535Decrease15.8%89Decrease91.1%12,699Decrease16.1%
20101,198,956Decrease0.6%83Decrease6.7%12,601Decrease1.0%
20111,165,304Decrease2.8%41Decrease50.6%11,263Decrease10.4%
20121,212,215Increase4.0%33Decrease19.5%10,739Decrease4.7%
20131,303,865Increase7.6%35Increase6.1%11,516Increase7.2%
20141,387,494Increase5.2%74Increase111.4%12,063Increase4.7%[51]
20151,398,694Increase0.8%118Increase57.2%11,959Decrease0.9%
20161,689,595Increase20.8%3,293Increase2690.7%14,818Increase23.9%
20171,970,700Increase16.6%293Decrease91.0%15,950Increase7.6%[52]
20182,281,134Increase15.8%136Decrease40.6%17,776Increase11.4%
20192,084,319Decrease8.7%123Decrease9.3%15,468Decrease13.0%
2020622,215Decrease70.1%44Decrease64.1%6,881Decrease55.5%
20211,010,494Increase62.4%34Decrease23.9%9,239Increase34.3%
20221,484,186Increase46.9%104Increase205.8%11,420Increase23.6%[52]
2023 1,838,828Increase23.9%62Decrease39.8%13,850Increase21.3%[52]
2024 1,556,798Decrease-15.3%136Increase119.4%12,282Decrease-11.3%[52]
2025 1,865,319 Increase19.8% 195 Increase43.4% 14,159 Increase15.3%
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More information Rank, Country ...
Top Markets at Varna Airport (2025)
Rank Country Passengers
1 Germany 596,000
2 Bulgaria 225,000
3 United Kingdom 151,000
4 Austria 145,000
5 Poland 142,000
Top Destinations (2025)
Rank Destination
1 Sofia
2 London–Luton
3 Vienna
4 Istanbul
5 Frankfurt
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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).[53]

Incidents and accidents

  • On 7 March 1983, Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Flight 013, an Antonov An-24 operating a domestic flight from Sofia to Varna, was hijacked by four men armed with knives who demanded to be flown to Vienna. The crew continued towards Varna while authorities extinguished much of the city's lighting to prevent the hijackers from recognising the Black Sea coast. After the aircraft landed, Bulgarian security forces stormed it; three hijackers were arrested, one was shot dead, and a flight attendant was injured.[54]
  • 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.[55]
  • On 24 May 2013, Air VIA Flight 502, an Airbus A320-232 registered LZ-MDR and arriving from Leipzig, overran runway 09 after landing at Varna Airport. The aircraft crossed the runway-end safety area, struck the perimeter fence and came to rest beyond the airport boundary. During the evacuation, two passengers sustained serious injuries, and the aircraft was substantially damaged.[56]

See also

References

External links

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