Balgarianovinite.com The construction of Terminal 3 at Vasil Levski Airport – Sofia will not cause significant inconvenience to passengers during the building works, Jesus Caballero, Chief Executive Officer of SOF Connect, said in an interview with BTA.
Caballero explained that the project has been structured in phases to ensure uninterrupted airport operations. “Terminal 3 will be built first, followed by the renovation of Terminal 2, and at a later stage the closure of Terminal 1,” he said, adding that this approach will not require major changes for passengers or airlines.
No significant operational restrictions are expected during construction, Caballero said, noting that the main impacts will be limited to occasional noise and dust during certain activities related to connecting the new terminal to the existing building frontage. These will be managed through partition walls, zone separation, enhanced cleaning and careful scheduling.
He added that minimal additional waiting times of a few minutes may occur at bus gates due to temporarily reduced capacity in that area, as well as possible slight delays in baggage delivery because luggage carts will have to take longer routes around the construction site.
Construction of Terminal 3 is scheduled to begin in spring 2026 and is expected to last five years, until April 2031.
Passenger traffic at Sofia Airport continues to grow, Caballero said, noting that 7,696,209 passengers passed through the airport from the start of 2025 to the end of November, compared to 7,288,894 in the same period of 2024, representing a 5.6% year-on-year increase. In mid-December 2025, the airport also welcomed its eight-millionth passenger for the year.
On airport charges, Caballero said SOF Connect has committed to airlines to freeze fees for the 2023–2027 period. “Despite inflationary pressure, we do not currently foresee any increase in charges,” he said.
Interest in new destinations to and from Sofia is also growing, with the five most popular destinations being London, Milan, Vienna, Rome and Barcelona, according to Caballero.
Regarding new services, he said Terminal 3 is designed to significantly improve the passenger experience. The total commercial area will increase from about 6,000 sq m at present to approximately 10,000 sq m, with plans to expand to around 12,000 sq m by 2040. The duty-free area will be enlarged, new retail outlets will open, and a modern food and beverage zone with international and local concepts will be developed.
Caballero added that the new business lounge will be three times larger than the current one. “We plan to open the first phase of the business lounge in March 2026. It will be located on Level 2 and will feature a terrace overlooking the runway,” he said, adding that the full renovation of the VIP lounge is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
“All these investments are part of a coordinated programme aimed at improving comfort, capacity and service quality for passengers, while preparing the airport for its next stage of development,” Caballero said. SOF Connect CEO: Construction of Terminal 3 at Sofia Airport Will Not Disrupt Passengers 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-01-05 08:01:22 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law