Qatar Airways Celebrates Ten Years of Flying to Sofia, Bulgaria

Thursday 16th of September 2021

Commemorating 10 successful years since its first flight between Doha and Sofia Airport (SOF) on 14 September 2011: Qatar Airways marks another impressive milestone in its history with Bulgaria.

Qatar Airways milestones in Bulgaria:

2011 – The airline began flying to Sofia four times a week via Bucharest, Romania using an A320.

2012 – Increased flights to five times a week.

2014 – Start of daily service between Sofia and Doha.

2015 – The flights were tagged with a stop in Belgrade, Serbia.

2016 – Direct flights began increasing to double daily before the start of the pandemic.

2020 – March, Qatar Airways signs a codeshare agreement with Bulgaria Air

2020 – October, flights resume post-Covid 19, as a tag on service with Bucharest, Romania.

2021 – From 16 December, flights are set to run non-stop again from Doha to Sofia, four times a week.

“We have long been proud to serve Bulgaria and connect this beautiful country with our global route network. I knew when we first began flying to Sofia that this was the start of a strong and enduring relationship. Over the years we have witnessed the benefits of our services to Bulgaria that extend well beyond our mission of bringing people together. Our flights have enabled travelers from around the world to experience Bulgaria’s hospitality and cultural history while supporting the export of Bulgarian products to overseas markets”, spoke Qatar Airways’ Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker with pride in the accolade Qatar Airways has earned.

Summarizing the achievement as “a testament to both strong demand and our deep commitment to the country.”

The service is currently operated by Qatar Airways’ modern Airbus A320 featuring 12 seats in Business Class offering the luxurious 79-inch long, 21-inch wide 180° lie-flat bed, and 120 seats in Economy Class. All benefit from the famous Oryx One on-demand in-flight entertainment system. The flights have also helped boost Bulgarian trade connections over the past decade and currently Qatar Airways Cargo offers more than 10 tons cargo capacity each week, each way on flights operating on the route.

Qatar Airways is the first global airline to achieve the prestigious 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating by Skytrax. This follows the success of Hamad International Airport (HIA) as the first airport in the Middle East and Asia to be awarded a Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating.

In accordance with meticulously reinforced COVID-19 safety procedures and regulations Qatar Airways is set to recommence direct flights between Doha and Sofia, from December this year.