Sofia, Dec 10 (BTA/GNA) – Two regular flights per week will be operated from Bulgaria’s Plovdiv Airport to Istanbul and back. This was decided at a meeting between Plovdiv Airport Board of Directors memebers Doychin Angelov, Krassimir Peshev and representatives of the Turkish low-cost airline Pegasus Airlines, informed Plovdiv Airport. The planes will land at Sabiha Gokcen Airport where there are hundreds of connecting options to different parts of the world, including flights to dozens of desirable destinations in Europe and Asia.
Angelov said that contract is about to be signed, and the first flight is expected to take place on January 21, 2023. The price of the ticket is an estimated value of EUR 70 in one direction, he added.
“We are extremely happy that in a short period of time we agreed on the launch of the regular Plovdiv-Istanbul airline. This opens the door for tourists from different parts of the world to arrive in Plovdiv more easily, and for Bulgarians to fly without problems from Plovdiv to hundreds of destinations by transferring at the Istanbul airport,” commented Angelov. The route is expected to attract a large passenger flow both from businesses, which have a great interest in this destination, and for the Armenian community in Plovdiv, as it has a convenient connection with flights to Yerevan, Doychin Angelov told BTA.
Angelov recalled that this is the first time that Plovdiv airport will have a direct line to Turkey. Negotiations with another airline for a second line that will connect Plovdiv with Bursa and Antalya are in the process of completion, and at the beginning of next year it will become clear weather this can be practically realized.
The project relies on the support of the Plovdiv Airport Development Fund. The meeting of the mayors of Plovdiv and Istanbul, Zdravko Dimitrov and Ekrem Imamoglu, also gave impetus to the favorable development of the negotiations. Angelov also expressed gratitude for the exceptional assistance of the Bulgarian ambassador to Turkey, Angel Cholakov.
This month Plovdiv Airport kicks off its winter schedule with new charter flights. Flights from Antalya and Izmir to Plovdiv will be operated by the SunExpress airline. The charter flights will be eight in total and will be operated until the beginning of February. Flights from Belfast, Northern Ireland, will then begin on December 20. The flights will be 17 in total and will continue until March 26, operated by the Jet2 airline.
Currently, there are regular flights from Plovdiv Airport to London’s Luton and Stansted airports, German airports in Dortmund and Memmingen, and flights to Dublin.
BTA/GNA