As early as tomorrow, the ground handling license of Swissport Bulgaria AD, operating at Vasil Levski Airport – Sofia, will be temporarily revoked. Its operations will be taken over by the remaining two ground handling operators. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov during an emergency inspection at Vasil Levski Airport in Sofia. The inspection was prompted by an incident on Friday evening in which nearly 300 passengers arriving from London were left stranded at the airport for almost an hour.
“It is unacceptable that, for the third time, we are having to address issues caused by ground handling providers. This has gone too far. Severe sanctions and decisive measures will follow. Bulgarian citizens deserve the same quality of service provided at other European airports,” the Deputy Prime Minister stated.
According to him, the chaos in ground handling operations is also a result of insufficient oversight by the Directorate General “Civil Aviation Administration” (DG CAA). “Ground handling operators work under a license issued by the DG CAA. Therefore, the Directorate bears full responsibility for ensuring effective oversight. Significant structural changes will be made within its operations,” Karadjov emphasized.
The Deputy Prime Minister has tasked the Director General of the DG CAA with submitting, by the end of the next day, a detailed report outlining specific measures for improving passenger services. The CAA’s Secretary General will be dismissed for failing to deliver a similar report as required last week.
“Back in February, SOF Connect submitted a formal request to the DG CAA to introduce minimum quality standards for ground handling operators. This proposal was left unaddressed by the Directorate, and those responsible will be held accountable,” Karadjov stated.
Regarding the specific incident on Friday, the investigation revealed that the designated passenger exit door was out of order. Although all ground handling operators had been notified to use an alternative door, this instruction was not followed.
The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the incident was caused both by the inadequate response of the ground staff and by the flawed system for directing passengers arriving from third countries. Such passengers currently disembark via an airbridge, then are guided through corridors and stairways back to the tarmac to be bussed approximately 200 meters to passport control, before finally exiting the airport.
"I expect SOF Connect to urgently explore and propose architectural solutions for a lasting improvement of this process, at least until Terminal 3 becomes operational. An immediate solution must be found to prevent such situations from recurring. Weekly inspections will continue, and if necessary, further licenses will be revoked,” Karadjov concluded firmly.
