Public Relations and Protocol

Two aviation incidents involving light aircraft were registered this morning, with no fatalities or serious injuries in either case.

At 05:50 a.m., a Cirrus SR22 aircraft with U.S. registration crashed shortly after take-off from Petrich, in the area below Mount Vihren. On board were the pilot and two passengers, who managed to reach a nearby mountain shelter on their own. By order of the Aviation Search and Rescue Coordination Centre, they were transported by a medical helicopter operated by Bulgaria Heli Med Service to a healthcare facility for examination.

As of today, the license of Swissport Bulgaria AD for carrying out ground handling activities at Vasil Levski Airport – Sofia has been suspended. The measure will remain in effect for up to two months, or until all recommendations have been implemented and identified non-compliances fully resolved. This was announced by Aneliya Marinova, Director General of the Directorate General “Civil Aviation Administration” (DG CAA)

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.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov is convening an emergency meeting in response to operational disruptions at Vasil Levski Airport – Sofia, and a serious incident that occurred yesterday, in which nearly 300 passengers arriving on a flight from London were stranded for almost an hour in the airbridge connecting the aircraft to the terminal. 

DG CAA has identified numerous deficiencies in the operations of the ground handling companies servicing Sofia, Varna, and Burgas airports Since the beginning of the month, by order of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov, emergency inspections have been conducted of all ground handling operators at the three airports. 

The DG CAA has recommended that all Bulgarian airlines suspend flights to and from the Middle East, in light of rising tensions in the region. 

In an official letter to the aviation sector, the CAA advises carriers to reassess the risks associated with flights to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut, Erbil, and Tehran, and to submit the results of their risk assessments - along with their decision regarding continued operations to these destinations - to the CAA by June 18, 2025 An official  NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) is expected to be issued shortly.

Starting today, teams from the Executive Agency “Automobile Administration” have begun 24-hour monitoring along the Botevgrad – Pleven – Vratsa – Montana – Vidin route. By order of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications, Grozdan Karadjov, the measure will be implemented for an indefinite period. increased oversight is due to the rise in freight traffic in the region, caused by roadworks on the Botevgrad – Mezdra section.

Due to frequent incidents involving trucks, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadzhov ordered the formation of additional teams from the EA "Automobile Administration" over the holidays. The teams are in the field and are conducting on-site inspections of truck incidents and transport companies in various regions of the country.

The truck that crashed near a gas station in the village of Radomirtsi was moving at excessive speed, both instantaneous and average. On that ramp, the heavy truck was recorded traveling at a speed of 86 km/h where the permitted speed is 70 km/h, and the average speed in the accident section was 69 km/h with a limit of 50 km/h. On the day of the incident, speeding in the range of 10-15 km/h above the limit was also detected in different sections.

We need a significant acceleration of the procedures for the construction of the third bridge over the Danube River. Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Dimitar Nedyalkov and the President of the International Road Transport Union (IRU) and Secretary General of the National Union of Road Hauliers in Romania (UNTRR) Radu Dinescu united around this opinion. The topic was the focus of their conversation during the International Transport Forum (ITF), which took place on May 21 and 22, 2025, in Leipzig, Germany.

By order of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadzhov, EA “Automobile Administration” is launching specialized inspections of trucks transporting timber and firewood.

The inspections will cover all regions of the country with heavy traffic of heavy goods vehicles carrying such loads. Inspectors will check compliance with regulatory requirements for maximum permissible weight and the technical condition of the trucks.

World Bank experts are currently preparing an analysis of the development opportunities for the Port of Varna and by the end of the year we will announce a public-private partnership procedure. The goal is to attract an international fund or company to secure sufficient investment for its modernization, attract new shippers, and increase the processed cargo volumes at the Varna-West and Varna-East terminals.

Airline Fly2Sky has become the 350th member of IATA. The official ceremony for the airline's accession was held in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications, Grozdan Karadjov. 

"This is a significant achievement for the Bulgarian aviation community. As of today, a third Bulgarian airline joins this prestigious global organisation, opening up new opportunities for the sector in our country," Deputy Prime Minister Karadjov emphasised. 

By order of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications, Grozdan Karadjov, the Executive Agency "Automobile Administration" conducted a comprehensive inspection of "NK ASIST" EOOD, the company that towed the vehicle that crashed on the Trakia motorway on Tuesday. 

Together with the Executive Agency "Road Transport Administration", we will propose legislative changes aimed at resolving the public transport issues affecting various populated areas. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications, Grozdan Karadjov, during a meeting with the mayors of all 18 municipalities in the Plovdiv region.

The most significant project in the port infrastructure to date is transforming the Port of Burgas into a key hub connecting Central Europe and Central Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. This was announced by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications, Angel Zaburtov, during the completion ceremony of the Project REBIRTH28, which involved the construction of a new deep-water berth at the “Burgas West” terminal. 

The second bridge over the Danube River at Ruse-Giurgiu is among the strategic infrastructure projects for Bulgaria. This was emphasised by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications, Dimitar Nedyalkov, during a discussion organised by the "G.S. Rakovski" Military Academy on the topic "Enhancing National Resilience: Progress, Challenges and the Way Forward". The event was held in partnership with the US Institute for Security Governance (ISG) and  coordinated by the Security Council Secretariat at the Council of Ministers. 

The development of a new law to unite the railway and road passenger transport into a single system is in an advanced stage. This was announced by Dimitar Nedyalkov, Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications, during a discussion on “Bulgaria towards accessible, competitive and sustainable mobility.” The event was attended by Irene Plank, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bulgaria. The forum was organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria and the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Slav Monov has been appointed Executive Director of the Road Transport Administration Executive Agency, replacing Damyan Voynovski. He has over 22 years of experience in the road transport sector. From 2012 to 2024, he was Executive Director of Stolichen avtotransport EAD and a member of the Board of Directors of the same. Prior to that, he held various positions within private companies, related to the field of transport and logistics.

Road safety brought together four ministers, deputy ministers, and three agencies involved in the topic.