What I thought of Sofia airport arrivals and departures : Bulgaria Airport

I used Sofia Airport during a trip to tour the Balkans. I flew from Heathrow UK to Sofia, Bulgaria with Air Bulgaria

See what I thought about Air Bulgaria

Arrivals at Sofia Airport

Landing at Sofia Airport was hassle free. Arrivals is not very large there were about four luggage carousels however the luggage did take about 40 minutes to start coming through. There was some seating by the luggage carousels and a toilet as soon as you get into the arrivals lounge before security if you are desperate after your flight I was and there wasn’t a queue. Most people waited until they got through security where there were more toilets but after I went to the loo most people were then through security so again no queue.

I was welcomed in the arrivals lounge by my hotel pick up, but I noticed signs for taxis. In arrivals there were a couple of ATMS, a money exchange, car hire kiosks and a shop selling snacks.

Departures at Sofia Airport

There were a number of check in desks I had checked in online and arrived about 3 hours before flight, there was no queue, check in staff were friendly.

Security was strange they were letting people through with trainer and I rocked up with sandals on and they made me remove them and its normally the other way around as I don’t know where they thought I was going to hide things in open sandals. However, it moved quickly, and I got through with no more hassle.

At first, I thought departures was quite small it wasn’t until I started walking to my gate that I realised it went around a corner and there were more cafes.

There were a few duty-free shops where I stocked up on booze, you can bring 10 litres back to the UK wish I could have carried more. They had recognisable brands in the drinks and cigarettes. There were 3 sky cafes playing good music, so I sat there for a while and watched the planes whilst I had a delicious sandwich. The prices were reasonable considering it was an airport I had a toasted pork sandwich for 6.90bgn about £3, the cafes also had a range of other sandwiches, pizzas, alcohol and soft drinks.

Departures seemed quiet even though planes were leaving.

There is a business lounge and signs were saying you could visit for 18euros which is good if you have a while to wait for your flight but there were plenty of places to sit so I did not feel as though I needed to escape from any mad crowds.

Flight announcements were made over a loudspeaker and there were not a lot of tv screen displaying departure gates so make sure you don’t forget what gate you are heading to.

I noticed a baby room, meditation room, Vat refund, Cigar shop and posh wine, Book shop, jewellery shop, Bag shop, Currency exchange, Massage chairs, 2 children Wendy houses for children to play with.