Ruse Airport (), also known as Shtraklevo (''Щръклево'') after the village located to the north, is a

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

airport located about 20 km south of the city of

Ruse, Bulgaria Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; ) is the fifth-largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, approximately south of Bucharest, R ...

. Ruse Airport is the only Bulgarian airport licensed for general purpose aviation but not licensed for international or domestic passenger services. Currently, the airport is used by private jets and hosts three hail-prevention airplanes used for anti-hail protection of Bulgaria and Southern Romania.

History

The airport was established in 1967 as a training site for pilots from the

Bulgarian Air Force The Bulgarian Air Force () is one of the three branches of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Bulgarian airspace, and jointly with ...

. The airport was named 11th Air Base "Shtraklevo" and equipped with

Aero L-29 Delfin Aero is a Greek prefix relating to flight and air. In British English, it is used as an adjective related to flight (e.g., as a shortened substitute for aeroplane). Aero, Ærø, or Aeros may refer to: Aeronautics Airlines and companies * Aero (Am ...

coming from

Dolna Mitropoliya Dolna Mitropoliya ( , "Lower Bishopric"; also transliterated as Dolna Mitropolia, Dolna Mitropolija) is a town in Pleven Province of northern Bulgaria, the administrative center of Dolna Mitropoliya municipality. It is about 10 km northwest ...

Airport. It was used by

Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Balkan Bulgarian Airlines () was Bulgaria's government-owned flag carrier airline between 1947 and 2002. During the 1970s, the airline became a significant European carrier. The company encountered financial instability following the fall of co ...

for its domestic flights to

Sofia Airport Sofia Vasil Levski Airport () is the main international airport of Bulgaria, located east of the centre of the capital Sofia. In 2019 the airport surpassed 7 million passengers for the first time. The airport serves as the home base for BH Air ...

, but with the end of the communist era in Bulgaria, domestic flights weren't profitable, due to lack of government funding. It served as a training base until 1998, when it ceased military operations and was finally abandoned in 1999.

Developing

The government of Bulgaria decided to grant concession of some of its international airports, but the first procedure in late 2007 wasn't successful, although there was interest from the Swiss investor Ferdinand Prisi and the Bulgarian company Prista Oil. The government decided to make a new bid for the airport of Ruse, the new concourse should take place in the middle of December 2007, but later postponed it to unknown date. In mid-October 2014, the Ministry of Transport decided to grant the ownership of the airport to Ruse Municipality. The idea was approved by the municipality Councilors and the finalization of the deal was expected to occur in early November 2014. The airport's manager, Nikolay Gorchev, stated in an interview that when the deal was completed, an application for license for aviation activities would be made. The Bulgarian government transferred ownership of the property in Shtraklevo village, as well as its stake in the airport to Ruse municipality on 17 December 2014. The procedure was finalized on 4 February 2015 and the airport is currently officially owned by Ruse municipality. From 2017, the airport is open for small passenger and cargo aircraft. On February 24, 2023, the Municipal Council of Ruse voted for the company " Ruse Airport " to enter into a contract for the operation of the airport located in the village of Shtrklevo. Since then, significant steps have been taken to modernize the airport and improve the conditions for providing aviation services. The runway lighting system was built. Thus, the airport in Ruse is the first in Bulgaria with LED lighting with solar batteries. A 9-kilometer perimeter fence was also built. The grounds have been thoroughly cleaned and the passenger terminal building has been renovated and preserved. Two anemometers are also installed, which meet the special requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO. For the needs of the airport, stationary and mobile fuel tanks were bought last year, as well as a "Follow me" vehicle.

Airlines and destinations

There are currently no services to and from Ruse Airport. The airport hosts three

Beechcraft King Air The Beechcraft King Air is a line of American utility aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The King Air line comprises a number of twin-turboprop models that have been divided into two families. The Model 90 and 100 series developed in the 1960s ...

anti-hail airplanes and often receives private jets.

References

{{authority control Defunct airports Airports in Bulgaria

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

Buildings and structures in Ruse Province

History

Developing

Airlines and destinations

See also

References