Not sure about Burgas, but I think Varna is Fraport. Need I say more?
Yes, Burgas too. But being Fraport doesn‘t necessarily mean 300€ per stop, as in Greece. Ljubljana is also Fraport, and much less expensive.
I still remember Burgas as quite expensive (both fees and particularly the Avgas), and generally not too keen on GA. Myself, I have mostly stopped flights to Romania and Bulgaria. No terrible experiences really, but just not any real good experiences either.
Romania has been pretty bad with avgas last year.
Unless you plan for a wet charter, I would always route via Belgrade or Nis, unbeatable fuel and reasonable fees.
Dont know Burgas, Varna wasn’t too expensive last year – 125€ incl 2 nights parking (parking was only 8.50 / day).
I like Stockerau LOAV a lot, but it puts you right in front of the Vienna airspace – I would go more South like LOAN.
Plovdiv LBPD used to be very GA friendly and cheap but I don’t think they have avgas.
I used LBBG as a fuel stop in October 2020 in a sub-2 t turboprop. Budget (without fuel) was 96.35 EUR, inclusive handling. I don’t remember any PPR.
My notes at the time say:
Very efficient fuel stop. Fuel truck arrived quickly, handler escorted me to terminal to pay and toilets, and I was on my way. Recognised as technical (fuel) stop, stayed airside, so didn’t pass any passport control / customs control.
According to a quote I got in June, parking would have been 4 EUR/day.
chflyer wrote:
VFR or IFR? SEP?Burgas is an international airport and as such isn’t enthusiastic about SEP aircraft. Having said that, if you are a single aircraft it should work fine. My recollection of pricing there is >€100 for landing/handling, but that is becoming normal these days for intl airports. Burgas has Avgas (2018, but no reason to expect that to change). Avgas was a huge problem everywhere in Romania in 2018 due to the primary supplier going bankrupt. I expect that to have been resolved, but check availability there carefully.
The large Bulgarian PoE airports sometimes try to enforce PPR on small GA aircraft and might refuse an FPL without PPR reference. This is garbage and if they cite a regulation then they’ve conveniently overlooked that PPR only applies to commercial operations. Insist that you as private GA you don’t need PPR approval to file your flight plan. You might want to contact AOPA Bulgaria in advance to get current info. Mine is from a visit in 2018 when our large group of aircraft would have been stuck without their intervention on our behalf when our FPL were rejected. As mentioned, if you’re a single aircraft you likely won’t have any issue… and even less so if you’re IFR.
Otherwise, Bulgarian and Romanian ATC are very professional and helpful, with excellent English.
Summer weather should be good, although it was very unstable in 2018. In general, humidity can cause buildups over mountainous areas, as in the Alps.
The flatter central area of Bulgaria, from Burgas/Varna west to Sofia, is covered by a multitude of military areas that make VFR flight challenging during the week from 0900-1600LT. The military has a lazy habit of activating a zone from the ground up to 19’500 when a jet does a ground run-up test. AOPA was trying to improve that situation, but I don’t know current status. If you arrive/leave Burgas from Romania and the north, then that won’t be an issue.
If you have a chance, I strongly recommend a visit down the coast from Burgas to LBPR Primorsko. It is an absolutely lovely GA airfield with paved runway and delightful little terminal building. They have Avgas.
Primorsko Airport
Thanks for the info, intention is SEP, VFR. My initial intention was to fly down the Adria to either Split or Dubrovnik and spend a few days on a boat there, then fly across but saw all the restricted areas so thought it might be better to take a trip direct via Hungary and Rumania.
Will have to see about Flight Plans etc, but looking at Primorsko, why is it in the centre of a TRA?
lionel wrote:
I used LBBG as a fuel stop in October 2020 in a sub-2 t turboprop. Budget (without fuel) was 96.35 EUR, inclusive handling. I don’t remember any PPR.
Time traveller….. 
ch.ess wrote:
Romania has been pretty bad with avgas last year.
Unless you plan for a wet charter, I would always route via Belgrade or Nis, unbeatable fuel and reasonable fees.
Dont know Burgas, Varna wasn’t too expensive last year – 125€ incl 2 nights parking (parking was only 8.50 / day).
I like Stockerau LOAV a lot, but it puts you right in front of the Vienna airspace – I would go more South like LOAN.
I was thinking of LOAV because of the direct connection to Vienna city, airspace isn’t my concern – ok, with exception to the ridiculous amounts of restricted airspace when flying from Dubrovnik to Burgas I thought twice – but also, what about Covid regulations? Anybody know what the situation is when making that trip? Looking at NOTAMs, I see something for both Rumania and Bulgaria concerning commercial flights but Bulgaria has this one which says:
COVID-19: ALL PERSONS ENTERING THE TERRITORY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA FROM SWEDEN, GREAT BRITAIN, NORTHERN IRELAND AND PORTUGAL, EXCLUDIND THE OTHER EU MEMBER STATES, AS WELL AS FROM ALL THIRD COUNTRIES EXCLUDING SERBIA, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, MONTENEGRO, ICELAND, NORWAY, SWITZERLAND, LIECHTENSTEIN, SAN MARINO, ANDORRA, MONACO AND VATICAN SHALL BE PLACED UNDER QUARANTINE FOR A PERIOD OF 14 DAYS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF: 1. BULGARIAN CITIZENS AND CITIZENS OF OTHER EU MEMBER STATES, GREAT BRITAIN, STATES OF SCHENGEN AGREEMENT, SAN MARINO, ANDORRA, MONACO AND VATICAN TRAVELLING DUE TO HUMANITARIAN REASONS. 2. BULGARIAN CITIZENS AND CITIZENS OF OTHER EU MEMBER STATES, GREAT BRITAIN, STATES OF SCHENGEN AGREEMENT, SAN MARINO, ANDORRA, MONACO AND VATICAN TRAVELLING AS REPRESENTATIVES OF COMMERCIAL ECONOMIC AND INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES AND PERSONS DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN: BUILDING, MAINTAINING, OPERATING AND ENSURING THE SECURITY OF THE STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA, END PART 1 OF 3 CREATED: 30 Jun 2020 21:39:00 SOURCE: LBSFYNYX
Reading that, I’d say flying from Germany means no issue with quarantine, I believe?
Hello Steve,
I would suggest to avoid Burgas if you can and do entry either at Plovdiv or Gorna and then proceed to Primorsko.
you might contact the Bulgarian CAA, they are very forthcoming with information. People have reported that as a result to a simple mail they were sent loads of material including the valid ICAOmap. I have met some folks from their CAA, they are very pro GA.
As for quarantine, I would be careful at the moment in both directions. Normally I would go to Belgrade, take on fuel there, then on to Plovdiv and Primorsko but given that Serbia is under huge scrutiny now re COVID I guess that is not a good idea even though Bugaria currently has no quarantine for Serbia. Belgrade has by far the cheapest avgas and is very cheap as a transit stop.
As for the Covid Situation here in BG, currently the hotspot is Sofia, which has about 80 cases per day. The rest is comparatively safe, particularly Burgas and to the south. Varna not so much. You have to be aware you will need to wear masks in all public enclosed spaces, such as shops et.c.
The main problem I would see right now is the totally volatile situation re covid. One literally does not know what the next day brings. BG has initially been very good in avoiding huge numbers but since they opened up this has unfortunately changed. Daily figures are within the 180 cases per 24 hours. Information for that can be found here:
Steve6443 wrote:
Time traveller…..
Indeed. It was in October 2019.
