Fraport, the German operator of the airports in Burgas and Varna, says passenger numbers at the two Bulgarian airports rose 6.1% in the first nine months of 2026 from a year earlier.

Across the group, about 146m passengers flew, up 1.7%. It is the first time the total has topped the 2019 level, before the pandemic.

The concession for the two Black Sea airports is held by Fraport Twin Star Airport Management, a German-Bulgarian company. Fraport AG owns a 60% majority stake in it.

Most of the growth came from airports outside Germany. Passenger numbers rose 15.7% in Ljubljana, 9.1% in Brazil and 5.1% at the Greek airports, a new record. In Lima they were up 2.8%, and traffic there was also a record.

At Frankfurt, the group's main hub, traffic barely changed at 47.5m passengers, down 0.2%. Chief executive Stefan Schulte said growth there is held back by high regulatory costs and fewer flights, including after Lufthansa group's CityLine stopped operating. The group expects Frankfurt traffic to stay near the 2025 level.

"The broad portfolio of the Fraport group has proved its worth," Schulte said. He said the airports abroad are the main driver of the results, despite a hard market, tension in the Middle East and costlier jet fuel.

Group revenue for the nine months rose 3.8% to €3.466bn. Without building and expansion work at its foreign subsidiaries, it was up 4.7%, or €3.350bn.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were also a record at €1.178bn, up 2%. The airports abroad provided 48% of that, against 43% a year earlier. In the third quarter alone, their share was 54%, against 47% in the same period of 2025.

Net profit, which is what is left after all costs and taxes, fell 28.8% to €314.5m. Earnings per share were €2.95, against €4.30 a year earlier. The company blames the fall mainly on higher interest and depreciation costs after the expansions in Lima and Frankfurt ended.

Free cash flow, the money left after investment, almost doubled to about €93m, up 93.4%. The company says the reasons are good results from its core business and lower spending after the big building projects ended.

Ryanair said on 9 October that it will fly from Burgas to Wroclaw in summer 2027. Tickets for the route were already on sale.

Fraport left its 2026 forecast unchanged: EBITDA of €1.5bn, against €1.44bn for 2025, and net profit of between €300m and €400m, against €468.1m a year earlier.