The once-weekly direct flight between Lisbon and Sofia is operated by Bulgaria’s national carrier Bulgaria Air.
Launched at the end of April the weekly flight lands in Lisbon on Thursdays at 11pm, and leaves again for Sofia 50 minutes later, linking the two historic capitals with a flight of just under four hours.
National airport management company ANA – Airports of Portugal said the Lisbon-Sofia operation is “another new company and another new destination for Lisbon, which has seen its connections grow and its options for Portuguese passengers diversify as well as amplifying the entry of tourists to Portugal.”
Passengers on the inaugural flight from Sofia were welcomed to Lisbon with a party atmosphere, including cake, champagne and a celebratory selfie to take away with them, to mark the occasion.
Meanwhile, British airline Monarch has also added new routes to its catalogue of summer destinations, introducing flights to Lisbon from London Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester, as well as a Manchester-Funchal (Madeira) flight.
The inaugural flights from Gatwick and Manchester landed in Lisbon on Friday 29 April followed by the Manchester-Funchal flight a day later.
Monarch’s Birmingham-Lisbon flight starts on 17 June.
Also on 1 May, Lisbon Airport welcomed Russian Ural Airline’s inaugural flight from Moscow, a route so far operated only by Portugal’s national flag-carrier TAP.
The Yekaterinburg-based airline is using an Airbus A320 to operate the flights, on Thursdays and Sundays, with the incoming aircraft landing in Lisbon at 11.50am and set to depart again an hour later.