Transport in Bulgaria

Transport in Bulgaria is dominated by road transport, despite nearly half of all paved roads belonging to the lowest category of roads. As of December 2015, the country had 774 kilometers of highways.

Buses play a significant role in long distance public transport, coaches are operated by public and private companies. Sofia has three major national bus terminals, the Central, the Western and the Southern Terminals, and a separate terminal for international routes. In the countryside share taxis are in operation between smaller settlements.

Railway systems are mostly outdated, the average speed is very low, however, upgrading projects are underway. The national railways company is BDŽ, but private freight operators are also present. The Sofia Metro has two lines, and a third is being built as of 2016.

Air traffic has been growing since the 2000s, which was facilitated by the opening of a second terminal at Sofia Airport, as well as the implementation of new destinations and routes. The flag carrier is Bulgaria Air, but a number of private charter companies also exist, operating domestic and international flights.

Ports along the Danube and the Black Sea are the most important concerning Bulgaria's water transport system. The two largest ports are in Varna and in Burgas.

After the second terminal of International Airport Sofia was built the total number of passengers for the country rose and reached 6,595,790 in 2008, and in April 2011 Airport Sofia serviced 282 694 passengers, 13% more than the same period of 2009, when the record was 250 000 passengers. In 2011 passenger traffic at Bulgaria's three major airports - Sofia, Varna and Bourgas - grew up to near 10% on the year to 3.89 million in the first half of 2011, due to rise of customers using international routes and launch of new destinations. In 2014, Bulgarian airports served 7,728,612 passengers and handled 23,101 tons of goods.

In the past aviation compared with road and railroad transport used to be a minor mode of freight movement, and only 860,000 passengers used Bulgarian airlines in 2001. In 2013 Bulgaria had 68 airports, 57 of which had paved runways. Two airports, Sofia Airport and Burgas Airport, had a runway longer than 3,000 meters, and there were four heliports. The second- and third-largest airports, Varna Airport and Burgas Airport, serve mainly charter flights and have regular domestic links with the capital. In the early 2000s, Sofia Airport received substantial renovation, with aid from a Kuwaiti-led consortium, in anticipation of increased air connections with Europe. A three-phase expansion was scheduled for completion in 2010. The communist-era state airline, Balkan Airlines, was replaced by Bulgaria Air, which was privatised in 2006. In 2004 Bulgaria Air transported 365,465 passengers to international destinations, including all major European cities, while in 2014 this number was at 897,422.

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