# 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.

## 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.
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.
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.
In 2016 the airport handled 1,689,595 passengers - a 20.8% increase compared to 2015.
On June 16, 2023 at Varna Airport, "Fraport Twin Star Airport Management" AD officially opened the completely renewed Taxiway (ECHO).

## 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. 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.

## Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Varna Airport:
| Airlines | Destinations |
| Air Serbia | Seasonal: Belgrade |
| Austrian Airlines | Vienna |
| Bulgaria Air | Sofia Seasonal: Frankfurt, Prague, Paris |
| Discover Airlines | Seasonal: Frankfurt, Munich |
| Edelweiss Air | Seasonal: Zürich |
| Enter Air | Seasonal charter: Gdańsk, Katowice, Warsaw–Chopin, Wrocław |
| Eurowings | Seasonal: Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart |
| Electra Airways | Cologne/Bonn (begins 17 May 2025) |
| Fly Lili | Seasonal charter: Hannover |
| Freebird Airlines Europe | Seasonal charter: Leipzig/Halle |
| Israir | Tel Aviv |
| LOT Polish Airlines | Seasonal charter: Katowice, Warsaw-Chopin, Wrocław |
| Luxair | Seasonal: Luxembourg |
| Norwegian Air Shuttle | Seasonal: Oslo |
| Ryanair | Seasonal: Katowice, Kraków, Vienna |
| Scandinavian Airlines | Seasonal: Copenhagen (begins 26 June 2025) |
| Smartwings | Seasonal: Brno, Ostrava, Prague Seasonal charter: Karlovy Vary |
| Sunclass Airlines | Seasonal charter: Bergen, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo, Stavanger, Stockholm–Arlanda, Trondheim |
| Sundair | Seasonal: Berlin, Bremen, Dresden |
| Transavia | Seasonal: Paris–Orly |
| TUI fly Belgium | Seasonal: Brussels |
| TUI fly Deutschland | Seasonal: Hannover |
| Turkish Airlines | Istanbul |
| Volotea | Seasonal: Lille, Nantes |
| Wizz Air | Abu Dhabi (begins 31 March 2025), Berlin, Charleroi, Eindhoven, Hahn (begins 14 April 2025), Hamburg, Leipzig/Halle (begins 29 April 2025), London–Gatwick, London–Luton, Memmingen, Nuremberg (begins 14 April 2025), Tel Aviv (resumes 14 April 2025) |

## Statistics
### Traffic

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% |
| 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% |
| 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% |
| 2023 | 1,838,828 | 23.9% | 62 | 39.8% | 13,850 | 21.3% |
| 2024 | 1,556,798 | -15.3% | 136 | 119.4% | 12,282 | -11.3% |
Top 5 Markets (2023) :
| Rank | Destination |
| 1 | Germany |
| 2 | Poland |
| 3 | Bulgaria |
| 4 | United Kingdom |
| 5 | Turkey |

## 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).

## 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.
* 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.
* 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.