More than 70 million passengers have passed through Burgas and Varna airports in the 20 years since Fraport Twin Star Airport Management began running them as concessionaire, the company said.
Its total contribution over the period is more than 500m euros. That includes spending on aviation infrastructure, concession fees and taxes paid to the state.
The company has run the two airports since 10 November 2006, and the concession lasts until 2046. "Today we are exactly halfway along our road, with 20 years behind us and 20 more ahead," said chief executive Michael Reusch.
Bulgaria was then still preparing to join the EU, and the terminal in Burgas dated from the 1950s.
The two cities got new terminals in 2013. Varna opened its terminal in August and Burgas in December.
In 2025, both airports built open waiting areas in front of the boarding gates, called "Gate Garden". The company says these are the first such areas in Europe. Each airport can now handle about 40% more departing passengers. The project won an award in the national "Building of the Year" contest.
In the winter of 2025/2026, the runway in Burgas was fully rebuilt in six months. The work cost more than 60m euros. The company calls it the biggest single private investment in airport infrastructure in Bulgaria. Flights at Burgas went back to their normal schedule in spring 2026.
This year, both airports reached Level 3 "Optimisation" in the international Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) programme.
Over the 20 years, the airports have won more than 10 national and international awards for their infrastructure, service, development and contribution to tourism.
In their best years, they worked with more than 100 airlines. The concessionaire provides more than 1,300 jobs a year, permanent and seasonal.
In 2020, flights almost stopped because of Covid-19. The war in Ukraine later ended flights to and from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The company says both events have had lasting effects, mostly in Burgas, where passengers from those markets have not yet been fully replaced by others.
Since the start of 2026, the two airports have handled more than 3 million passengers in total. This summer, Burgas had flights to more than 70 destinations and Varna about 60 routes.
Reusch says that over 20 years the company has been through difficulties, opportunities and successes that once looked ambitious. He believes every flight and every project is the result of his colleagues' dedication and professionalism.
"None of these achievements would have been possible without our people," Reusch said. The company sees its staff as its greatest strength, and some of them have worked there since the first day of the concession.
Reusch is sure the company will keep growing and introduce innovations. In the coming years, the company says, its priorities are year-round flights, new airlines and destinations, and more investment in infrastructure, efficiency and passenger service.
On 4 November we reported that the airports in Burgas and Varna had 6.1% more passengers in the first nine months of 2026 than a year earlier. The concession for the two airports is held by Fraport Twin Star Airport Management, in which Fraport AG has 60%.
The company describes its mission with the words "We connect Varna and Burgas with the world".