crowd

A crowd is a large and definable group of people, while "the crowd" is referred to as the so-called lower orders of people in general (the mob). A crowd may be definable through a common purpose or set of emotions, such as at a political rally, at a sports event, or during looting, or simply be made up of many people going about their business in a busy area (eg shopping). Everybody in the context of general public or the common people is normally referred to as the masses.

Terminology

The term crowd is often defined in contrast to other group nouns for collections of humans or animals: aggregation, audience, group, mass, mob, populous, public, rabble and throng. For example in "Public Opinion" Vincent Price compares masses and crowds:

Crowds are defined by their shared emotional experiences, but masses are defined by their interpersonal isolation.

In human sociology, the term "mobbed" simply means "extremely crowded", as in a busy mall or shop. In animal behaviour mobbing is a technique where many individuals of one species "gang up" on a larger individual of another species to drive them away. Mobbing behaviour is often seen in birds.

Social aspects of crowds

Social aspects are concerned with the formation, management and control of crowds, both from the point of view of individuals and groups. Often crowd control is designed to persuade a crowd to align with a particular view (e.g., political rallies), or to contain groups to prevent damage or mob behaviour. Politically organised crowd control is usually conducted by law enforcement but on some occasions military forces are used for particularly large or dangerous crowds.

Social aspects of crowds for adolescent peer groups

Adolescent culture is a relatively new feature of society, affecting most teenagers in the United States since the 1930s. The research on adolescent culture began with the search for identities: who the adolescents and their peer groups are and the differences and how adolescent culture differed from adult culture. Many researchers are making efforts to develop an understanding of the functions of crowds. But the findings are complicated due to multiple definitions of the crowd. Now in adolescence, peer affiliation becomes more important than ever before. Youths tend to categorize themselves and each other based on stereotypes and reputations. These categories are known in the developmental psychology literature as peer crowds. Crowds are defined as reputation based collectives of similarly stereotyped individuals who may or may not spend much time together. Crowds also refer to collectives of adolescents identified by the interests, attitudes, abilities, and/or personal characteristics they have in common. Crowds are different from cliques, which are interaction based peer groups who hang out together. Crowds are not simply clusters of cliques; the two different structures serve entirely different purposes. Because the clique is based on activity and friendship, it is the important setting in which the adolescent learns social skills like how to be a good friend and how to communicate effectively. These and other social skills are important in adulthood as well as in adolescence. Crowds are based on reputation and stereotypes than on interaction; they probably contribute more to the adolescent sense of identity and self-conception. For example jocks and burnouts are more likely to be interaction based than such crowds as loners and nerds.

Psychological aspects of crowds

Psychological aspects are concerned with the psychology of the crowd as a group and the psychology of those who allow their will and emotions to be informed by the crowd (both discussed more comprehensively under crowd psychology), and other individual responses to crowds, such as crowd-sickness, claustrophobia and agoraphobia.

(source:wikipedia)

Promoters

Twitter Promoters are the best way to increase branding power and awareness of your website, products and services.Build your official Account, and would like them to promote it on Facebook and other web parts, attracting potential customers.Twitter is promoter's best friend. Twitter can be an incredibly powerful tool for party promoters who are looking to promote their events and websites. Twitter can be a cheap and effective way of advertising a product, brand or business. It is important to tailor the promotional campaign.

Town

Twitter is a world web surfer's town.The twitters use twitter for promot there products power wheels barbie, coat tree, corel draw, green tea, radio, flyer, wagon,cross, trainer, headphones, sandisk, cruzer, drum kit, chocolate, truffles,acuvue, toaster, origami, paper, tiara, video card,flash card, bubble machine, window washer, faucet ,atkins bars,portable generator, disco, ball, nikon ,coolpix rowing machine, briefcases,and there business links.

Group action

In algebra and geometry, a group action is a way of describing symmetries of objects using groups. The essential elements of the object are described by a set and the symmetries of the object are described by the symmetry group of this set, which consists of bijective transformations of the set. In this case, the group is also called a permutation group (especially if the set is finite or not a vector space) or transformation group (especially if the set is a vector space and the group acts like linear transformations of the set).

A group action is a flexible generalization of the notion of a symmetry group in which every element of the group "acts" like a bijective transformation (or "symmetry") of some set, without being identified with that transformation. This allows for a more comprehensive description of the symmetries of an object, such as a polyhedron, by allowing the same group to act on several different sets, such as the set of vertices, the set of edges and the set of faces of the polyhedron.

If G is a group and X is a set then a group action may be defined as a group homomorphism from G to the symmetric group of X. The action assigns a permutation of X to each element of the group in such a way that

the permutation of X assigned to the identity element of G is the identity transformation of X;

the permutation of X assigned to a product gh of two elements of the group is the composite of the permutations assigned to g and h.

Since each element of G is represented as a permutation, a group action is also known as a permutation representation.

The abstraction provided by group actions is a powerful one, because it allows geometrical ideas to be applied to more abstract objects. Many objects in mathematics have natural group actions defined on them. In particular, groups can act on other groups, or even on themselves. Despite this generality, the theory of group actions contains wide-reaching theorems, such as the orbit stabilizer theorem, which can be used to prove deep results in several fields.

(source:wikipedia)

Peer group

Peer group is a social group consisting of people. Peer groups are an informal primary group of people who share a similar or equal status and who are usually of roughly the same age, tended to travel around and interact within the social aggregate Members of a particular peer group often have similar interests and backgrounds, bonded by the premise of sameness. However, some peer groups are very diverse, crossing social divides such as socioeconomic status, level of education, race, creed, culture, or religion.

Developmental psychology

Developmental psychologists, Lev Vygotsky, Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, and Harry Stack Sullivan, have all argued that peer relationships provide a unique context for cognitive, social, and emotional development, with equality, reciprocity, cooperation, and intimacy, maturing and enhancing children's reasoning abilities and concern for others. Modern research echoes these sentiments, showing that social and emotional gains are indeed provided by peer interaction.

Bonding and functions of peer groups

Serve as a source of info.

Peer groups have a significant influence on psychological and social adjustments for group individuals.Peer groups provide perspective outside of individual’s viewpoints. Members inside peer groups also learn to develop relationships with other in the social system. Peers, particularly group members, become important social referents for  teaching members customs, social norms, and different ideologies.

Teaches gender roles.

Peer groups can also serve as a venue for teaching members Gender roles. Through gender-role socialization group members learn about sex differences, social and cultural expectations. While boys and girls differ greatly there is not a one to one link between sex and gender role with males always being masculine and female always being feminine. Both genders can contain different levels of masculinity and femininity. Peer groups like gender roles can consist of all males, all females, or both male and female. Peer groups can have great influence or peer pressure on each other’s gender role behavior depending on the amount of pressure. If a peer group holds to a strong social norm, member will behave in ways predicted by their gender roles, but if there is not a unanimous peer agreement gender roles do not correlate with behavior

Serves as a practicing venue to adulthood.

Adolescent Peer groups provide support for children, and teens as they assimilate into the adult society decreasing dependence on parents, and increasing feeling of self-sufficiency and connecting with a much larger social network. this is “a period in which individuals are expanding their perspective beyond the family how to and learning negotiate relationships with others in the social system. Peers, particularly group members, become important social referents”  Peer groups also have influence on individual member’s attitudes, and behaviors on many cultural, and social issues such as drug use, violence, academic achievement and even the development and expression of prejudice.

Teaches unity & collective behavior

Peer Groups “ provide an influential social setting in which group norms are developed, and enforced through socialization processes that promote within-group similarity. Peer groups cohesion is determined, and maintained by such factors as group Communication, Group consensus, and Group conformity concerning attitude and behavior. As members of peer groups interconnect, and agree, a normative code arises. This Normative code can become very rigid deciding group behavior, and dress. Peer group individuality is increased by normative codes, and intergroup conflict. Member Deviation from the strict normative code can lead to rejection from the group.

Gender differences

Male

Male peer groups tend to display more assertive behavior and independence. Male peer groups also tend to display more antagonistic behavior than girls. Status hierarchies develop within Males peer groups having members vie for position for a time, but eventually a stable hierarchy is established reducing intragroup conflict. Many Adolescent male peer groups use homophobic behavior (e.g., using homophobic epithets or making homophobic statements) to assert masculinity and identify inappropriate behavior among group members.

Female

Female peer group members often feel greater investments in their social relationships than Males. Because of this investment female peer groups place a greater importance on group affiliation. This need of affiliation also leads females to dissent less and be more conforming to peer group norms compared to males. Status hierarchies are also formed in female groups, but often denied by group members . The great value placed on group membership also causes female groups to be more exclusive and resistant to new members after the group has been set. Furthermore, females great investments in social relationships tends to lead to more positive interactions than those of males.

Peer pressure

The term peer pressure is often used to describe instances where an individual feels indirectly pressured into changing their behavior to match that of their peers. Taking up smoking and underage drinking are two of the best known examples. In spite of the often negative connotations of the term, peer pressure can be used positively.

(source:wikipedia)

Working group

Working group (WG) is an interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers working on new research activities that would be difficult to develop under traditional funding mechanisms (e.g. federal agencies). The lifespan of the WG can last anywhere between a few months and several years. Such groups have the tendency to develop a quasi-permanent existence once the assigned task is accomplished; hence the need to disband (or phase out) the WG once it has provided solutions to the issues for which it was initially convened. Such goals to be achieved may include:

creation of an informational document;

creation of a standard, or

resolution of problems related to a system or network.

The WG may assemble experts (and future experts) on a topic together for intensive work. It is not an avenue for briefing novices about the subject matter. Occasionally, a group might admit a person with little experience and a lot of enthusiasm. However, such participants should be present as observers and in the minority.

Working groups are also referred to as task groups or technical advisory groups.

Characteristics

The nature of the working group may depend on the group's raison d’être — which may be technical, artistic (specifically musical), or administrative in nature.

]Administrative working groups

These working groups are established by decision makers at higher levels of the organization for the following purposes:

To elaborate, consolidate, and build on the consensus of the decision makers; and

To ensure (and improve) coordination among the various segments of the organization. A shared commitment to agreed common aims develops among the parties as they work together to clarify issues, formulate strategies, and develop action plans.

For example, the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs is a group of twelve federal agencies within the executive branch of the U.S. government, and is responsible for promoting achievement of positive results for at-risk youth. This working group was formally established by Executive Order 13459, Improving the Coordination and Effectiveness of Youth Programs, on February 7, 2008.

Musical working groups

Although any artisan or artist can benefit from being part of a working group, it is especially of great import for session players. Musicians face a variety of challenges that can impede the formation of musical working groups, such as touring and studio recording sessions. Such activities make it that much more difficult to concentrate on the developing the cohesiveness that is required to maintain a working group.

However, working groups have been shown to be rewarding to the stakeholders, as it fosters innovation. By working with the same people frequently, members become familiar with the répertoire of other members, which develops trust and encourages spontaneity.

Some of the more notable musical working groups include:

Abdullah Ibrahim Trio;

Alex von Schlippenbach Trio;

Dave Holland (Trio, Quartet, or Quintet);

Die Like A Dog Quartet;

Gary Bartz Quartet;

Vandermark 5; and

William Parker Quartet (Trio/Quartet).

[edit]Technical working groups

In many technical organizations, for example Standards organizations, the groups that meet and make decisions are called "working groups". Examples include:

IETF working groups (which are subordinate to Areas)

HTTP WG, original led by Dave Raggett

ISO working groups (which are subordinate to an SC (subcommittee), subordinate to a TC (technical committee)

W3C working groups

Device Description Working Group

Technical Architecture Group

SVG Working Group

In some cases, like the Printer Working Group, an entire consortium uses the term "working group" for itself.

The rules for who can be a part of the working groups, and how a working group makes decisions, varies considerably between organizations.

Mechanics

It is imperative for the participants to appreciate and understand that the working group is intended to be a forum for cooperation and participation. Participants represent the interests and views of stakeholders from disparate sectors of the community which happen to have a vested interest in the results of the WG. Therefore, maintaining and strengthening communication lines with all parties involved is essential (this responsibility cuts both ways — stakeholders are expected to share what information, knowledge and expertise they have on the issue.)

Programmes developed should be evaluated by encouraging community input and support; this will ensure that such programmes meet the community's vision for its future. The WG should also regularly seek community feedback on their projects. Apropos questions to be asked during such meetings include:

What were the objectives of the program?

What were the results of the project?

What effect did the results have on the identified problem?

What unexpected results — desirable or otherwise — were observed?

How were the results achieved? (Was it by the methods and techniques originally intended, or did these evolve with implementation?)

Was there an effective use of community resources?

Should our objective or methods be changed?

Depending on the lifespan of the WG, involved parties (at the very least) convene annually. However, such meetings may happen as often as once every semester or trimester.

(source:wikipedia)

Bulgaria Air

Bulgaria Air (Bulgarian: България Ер), is the flag carrier airline of Bulgaria, with its head office on the grounds of Sofia Airport in Sofia. The company is owned by Chimimport Inc and is a leader in terms of market share. In 2008, according to the company's Annual Report, Bulgaria Air had 1,185,430 passengers. Bulgaria Air’s fleet consists of 18 of the most popular and modern aircraft, designed for short and middle range flights.

History

Company

The airline was established in 2002 as a successor to the insolvent Balkan Bulgarian Airlines. By order of the Minister of Transport and Communications it was declared the national flag carrier in November 2002, starting operations on the 4th of December, 2002. The name and initial logo were determined by a public competition. Bulgaria Air was privatised in 2006; although it was rumoured that the government wanted to sell the carrier to a major foreign investor, a union of locally-owned companies, led by Hemus Air, emerged as the buyer with Italian Air One being the only other contender. Hemus Air reportedly paid €6.6m and promised to invest a further €86m over the next five years. Since then all flights and operations of Hemus Air and its subsidiary Viaggio Air are under name and management of the merged company, Bulgaria Air.

On 20 November 2008, Bulgaria Air became a full member of IATA.

2010–present

Bulgaria Air initially began operations by the name of "Balkan Air Tour." The airline was known by that name for a short period of time; in November 2002, public contests were held in Bulgaria to determine a name and logo for the new airline. Thousands of people showed their creativity and voiced their opinions and after searching through countless submissions, the name and logo were chosen. The design was used for about 4 years, until 2006, when an improved, more professional design was created. That logo design was used into early 2010 and a Cyrillic version was even created which was to replace the English titles on one side of the planes. However, after the full fleet merge of Hemus Air and Viaggio Air, a new livery had to once again be developed. After some leaked photos of a new design surfaced in online forums, they were met with public distaste and critique. This seemingly sent the designers back into development and postponed the new livery's release even further. Finally, in mid-2010, the first Bulgaria Air Airbus A319 was rolled out wearing the finalised colour scheme.

Destinations

A Bulgaria Air Airbus A320 at Sofia International Airport, Bulgaria. (2010)

Bulgaria Air Airbus A319 LZ-FBB in the new 2010 livery landing at London Heathrow Airport

Main article: Bulgaria Air destinations

Bulgaria Air operates 27 routes from Sofia Airport, including two domestic routes to Bourgas and Varna.

Codeshare agreements

Bulgaria Air has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Aeroflot (SkyTeam)

Aerosvit

Air France (SkyTeam)

Alitalia (SkyTeam)

Austrian Airlines (Star Alliance)

Czech Airlines (SkyTeam)

Iberia (Oneworld)

KLM (SkyTeam)

LOT Polish Airlines (Star Alliance)

MALÉV Hungarian Airlines (Oneworld)

TAROM (SkyTeam)

Charter flights

Bulgaria Air charter destinations

Bulgaria Air enjoys the reputation of a reliable partner in organising and performing ad-hoc charter flights and charter chains in many countries all over the world. Currently the company serves over 60 leading tour operators, air transportation brokers, airlines and other companies of the aviation and tourist industries, performing charter flights to over 80 destinations in Europe, Africa and Asia.

Fleet

Bulgaria Air Fleet

Aircraft Total Orders Passengers Notes

C Y Total

Airbus A319 3 0 — 144 144

Airbus A320-214 3 0 — 180 180

Avro RJ70 1 0 26 VIP private and VIP charters

BAe 146-200 3 0 8 76 84

BAe 146-300 3 0 — 110 110

Boeing 737-300 3 0 — 148 148 To be retired

Private business flights

Thanks to Bulgaria Air’s new Avro RJ70 Business Jet, starting in 2009, the company offers new service to its clients – booking a luxury flight with a custom schedule for their business trip. The passenger compartment of the new plane is equipped with 26 armchairs, couches, dining tables and multiple LCD displays, as well as on-board Wi-Fi Internet access.

(source:wikipedia)

Sofia Airport

Sofia Airport (IATA: SOF, ICAO: LBSF) (Bulgarian: Летище София, Letishte Sofiya), sometimes also called Letishte Sofia-Vrazhdebna (Bulgarian: Летище София-Враждебна, Letishte Sofiya-Vrazhdebna), is the main airport in Sofia, Bulgaria. Located 5 km (3.1 mi) east of central Sofia. In 2010 the number of passengers was 3.3 million. 

History

The airport was initially built in the late 1930s on a site 6.3 km (3.9 mi) (7.5 km (4.7 mi) by road then; later 9 km (5.6 mi) by road and today 10.2 km (6.3 mi) and up to 11.4 km (7.1 mi)) distant from the geographical centre of Sofia as a replacement of that city's small civil airport at Bozhurishte. Sofia then had under 250,000 inhabitants. The airport continues to serve the same city, which in 2006 passed the two million inhabitant mark.

During the Second World War, the facilities were used by the military. Mail, perishable freight and passenger operations began in 1947 from buildings on the north side of the airport. The passenger terminal (now Terminal 1) on the south side of the airport was completed during the Second World War in the manner of a then-modern European railway terminus to designs by the architect Ivan Marangozov. It opened after several years of delay in 1947. The structure comprised a government wing to the west, an international handling area in the middle, and a domestic handling area to the east. At that time, it was planned that the airport would eventually have two intersecting runways orientated at a 30-degree angle to each other.

The terminal had substantially reached its capacity of some 600,000 passengers a year by the later 1960s and was subjected to a number of refurbishments and extensions beginning in the spring of 1968. In 1975, a new international arrivals handling extension was opened to the west of the building, the domestic area to the east was enlarged, the government handling area was removed to a dedicated terminal some distance to the west, a VIP handling area opened in the old terminal, , apron area was extended to the east and new taxiways opened. A bonded warehouse opened to the east of the terminal square in 1969 and several new hangars followed to the east of the first maintenance base in the 1970s. A new checked baggage handling system opened to the north of the building in the early 1980s, cosmetic and traffic reorganising refurbishments were carried out in 1990, with a substantial landside extension following in 2000.

By the late 1970s, the terminal was handling in the region of three million passengers a year, a million of them on domestic routes. Passenger numbers fell off sharply after the 1979 CMEA ("Comecon") oil price shock and recovered to just over a million a year by the late 1980s. In the early and mid-1990s, domestic traffic practically ceased, while foreign traffic reduced significantly. The latter began growing apace in the late 1990s and early 2000s to reach its current levels. The terminal was last refurbished partially in 1990. In 2000 it underwent a wholesale update in which the international arrivals area was moved to the east wing where domestic handling had been, the former international arrivals area to the west was closed, and the layout of the central international departures area was changed in line with world developments. Despite the works to the old terminal, the airport was becoming overwhelmed with passenger traffic.

Options for different airport developments began to be examined in the mid-1960s. One option was to relocate the facility to a new site, with some locations up to 70 km (43 mi) from Sofia). Another option involved extending the airport's area radically to the north-east and gradually removing the focus of the airport there. A third option was to develop substantially the same site. By the later 1980s the authorities had settled on the last option. Project design, involving a new terminal to the east of the old facility, a new runway to the north of (and parallel to) the existing runway, and taxiways, was completed by the mid-1990s. A finance package involving very significant European and Kuwaiti investment was initially agreed in 1998 and was in place by 2000. Works began in 2001. The new runway and some taxiways were completed in mid-2006. Terminal 2 was formally inaugurated on 27 December 2006.

Design and construction of a new control tower was mooted in 2006 but this project appeared to be in abeyance by 2008. Over the years, Sofia Airport has been criticised for its lack of world class air freight facilities and for some access problems. Passengers to and from the Bulgarian interior have to access or egress the airport through crowded rail and coach facilities in central Sofia. A rail link has been mooted on several occasions since the 1960s but no moves have been documented to its implementation. The airport is occasionally criticised as a source of environmental noise and pollution and strict noise abatement procedures have been enforced for departing traffic since the mid-1970s, while arriving traffic is generally routed to approach the field from the east, clear of Sofia.

A significant and recurring operational criticism of Sofia Airport has concerned its historical lack of all-weather operations capability. Though the new runway was designed for ICAO Category 3 operations, in 2007 it emerged that radio interference from security fencing, and most significantly from a large newly-built lorry park, prevented certification (and hence use) of the associated radio navigational aids. During the winter months, the airport, located on a high alluvial plain surrounded by mountains, suffers from very significant and frequent fog precipitation. In such circumstances, flights are redirected to diversion airports in Bulgaria or neighbouring countries, lengthening journeys by many hours.

Airport reconstruction

According to the plan a new Sofia Airport terminal was built to the east of the current terminal, and a second runway was constructed alongside the existing one. The existing runway has been turned into a taxiway parallel to the newly constructed runway. Both cross the Iskar river. The new runway was opened in August 2006, while the new terminal opened in December 2006.

Total cost of the project was planned at 200 million euros. Finance was secured in 1997-98 from the European Investment Bank (60 million euro), Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (12.3 million Kuwaiti dinars, approx. 41.5 million euro), and the European Union PHARE Programme (7.6 million euro). In August 2000 an ISPA grant of 50 million euro was allocated and in December the Financing Memorandum was signed.

The construction works were in two lots: the new terminal with its surrounding infrastructure, and the new runway. The first lot was allocated to the German branch of Austrian company Strabag,[3] while the second lot was won by a consortium of Kuwaiti company Mohamed Abdulmohsin al-Kharafi & Sons and UAE-based Admak General Contracting Company.

Delays to terminal construction

The initial completion deadline for the new terminal was 15 December 2004 to a total budget of 112.2 million euro. Immediately after works started, Strabag contested the geological surveys by Dutch consutants NACO B.V. and demanded additional funding for unexpected additional works. The delay was ten months, and construction resumed after the Bulgarian government agreed to augment the project's value by 4.8 million euro and extend the deadline to 31 August 2005

In 2004 Strabag demanded an additional 6 million euro due to rising steel prices. The Ministry of Transportation rejected the claim, backed by a report from NACO. In May 2005 the contractor threatened to take the case to international arbitration. In August 2005, it became clear that Strabag would not be able to meet the changed deadline, slippage being put at six to eight weeks. In November 2005 Strabag asked for eight months' further extension.

Runway system

On 31 August 2006, Sofia Airport set its new runway system to operation, replacing the old and out-of-date facilities. The new runway is offset at 210 m (690 ft) to the north of the old runway, with the eastern end of its 3,600 m (11,811 ft) long strip crossing over the Iskar river bed on a specially constructed bridge. New rapid and connecting taxiways are built additionally to open way for 200 aircraft movements per hour at a high level of safety. The navigational aids installed on the new runway enable landing operations under low visibility conditions at category III of the ICAO standards.

Two de-icing platforms are constructed to allow centralised de-icing procedures in winter, They are just an element of the overall strategy of Sofia Airport for environmental protection and reduction of the harmful effects resulting from the airport operations.

Lufthansa Technik-Sofia

Lufthansa Technik Sofia was founded in late 2007 as a joint venture between Lufthansa Technik (80%) and the Bulgarian Aviation Group (20%). With the foundation of Lufthansa Technik Sofia, the Lufthansa Technik Group has created a fifth platform for the overhaul and maintenance of narrowbody aircraft in Europe. The Bulgarian facility serves customers in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The facility has undergone a major reconstruction and upgrading, with the target to be ready for the heaviest stage of Aircraft maintenance checks D-Check, that will be carried out in Bulgaria. Meanwhile the more than 350 staff trained in Bulgaria and at Lufthansa Technik facilities in Shannon Base Maintenance operations have started in the fourth quarter of 2008 with one Airbus A321 from Lufthansa as the first customer.

The New Control Tower

Tender for the construction of a new tower for flight control at Sofia Airport is expected to start within a month and a half, said the director of DP RVD (RVD) Dian Dinev during a seminar on the progress of transport projects in the country. The project was launched in the mid-2006 Indicative value is several tens of million BGN. The actual construction is expected to continue year and a half. It is planned to be built and a new navigation system for connecting pilots with air traffic controller worth 10-12 million in the airport will be made and a new radar system, whose construction will begin early next year. The total investment program of the ATC for the years 2010-2014 is 110 million, as funds are fully borne by the ATC and were collected from airport charges. Dinev said that implementing the plan from 2007 to 2011 progressively reduced fees. Operations Director at the airport Kabakchiev Nicholas said that until about a month the airport will be installed 40 machines for coffee and snacks to enable travelers to buy these products at lower prices than those in the cafes at the aerodrome.

For five years owner "Air Traffic Control (ATC) will invest 110 million leva in infrastructure. Investments are made entirely with company funds collected from fees on overflight and landing. The main investments relate to further improve flight safety, so the money will be invested in radar and navigation equipment of last generation. Completely new tower for flight control will be built by mid-2012, which will cost several tens of million, said air traffic control. The winning design was chosen over two years, and the procedure for the new tower started in 2006 to permit funding, however, was given until this year. The process for selection of construction will start within a month. This building has a special status because it will be a functioning airport, explained by ATC requirements and therefore the contractor will be very high. Our ATC has streamline flight paths of planes that pass through Bulgarian airspace, which is linked both to shorten the duration of flights and the commitments made under the "open skies" whereby through optimization in routing achieves lower fuel emissions. The construction of a control system for Airfield beacon through Sofia Airport, which will be invested approximately 12 million According to European Directive tsvetotehnicheskoto security at airports, which until now has been concern of ATC, 2011 must become the responsibility of each airport. From ATC reported that next year the fee for overflight country declined by another 3 euros, and has so far achieved a reduction of almost 10 euros and then a period when some European countries raise the price to fly through their space.

Sofia Airport Upgrade

Approved the project for expansion of the passenger compartment in the area for arriving non-Schengen Terminal 2 of Sofia Airport. Will be erected and a new glass wall will be built two permanent staircases, announced Monday. A broadening of the scope for passengers and called. sterile area for domestic flights. All investment is over 1 million. This was announced to journalists Nikolay Kabakchiev, COO of Sofia Airport. He did this at a seminar on the progress in transport development in Bansko. Approved the project for expansion of the passenger compartment in the area for arriving non-Schengen Terminal 2 of Sofia Airport, he said. From 2012 to 2018 no problem working with airport X-rays and metal detectors in the EU standard 2. Detection limits and detectors with which the requirement for liquids will be abandoned, meets standard 3 informed Kabakchiev. This is a transition to a qualitatively new standard with a special X-ray graphics. One such facility is worth over 1 million and the airport are mounted on at least four, "he said. Producers will be ready with the production of such X-rays in the middle of 2011 and then they can be purchased anywhere in Europe. Now the airport is still working on a standard and ongoing process for the supply of standard X-ray 2. Projects relating to airspace present Dian Dinev, Director General of SE "Air Traffic". He said the forthcoming announcement of a contract to build new aerial tower at the airport which will cost several tens of million BGN. Work is also in the possibility of providing weather information directly to the needs of air traffic control. Perform specific projects to open the electronic system and opportunities to increase revenue. At a European Parliament relating to requirements for lighting service at airports, already has a working group of experts said Dinev.

Over 40 machines for food, drinks and coffee will be installed at Sofia Airport a month. This will significantly reduce food prices, which passengers can eat before the flight, said Nikolai Kabakchiev, COO of Sofia Airport. Already signed a contract with a company that will deliver the machines and will be responsible for charging them. Until a few weeks for the first time in our country will be equipped with four separate machines for check in, which will allow people to place themselves on the printed board cards to choose their seat on which to sit and if you have luggage only leave it to the bar where the staff put the tag. New and more attractive prices for goods at airport stores that compete with those of major European airports, promised by the management of the airport. This is a process that will continue to have people happy with its passage through the airport. In this regard, large free areas initially will be used as an exhibition, so that departing passengers to diversify and come first to see something really beautiful, said Transport Minister Alexander Tsvetkov. Entirely new business area will start at Terminal 2, which will vary in their comfort from the existing. Terminal 1 of this zone will cost 15 Euros. Kabakchiev added that since the summer to the airport now has signed 18 new contracts giving commercial areas, and tender prices have been reduced by about 30%. By the end of next year's X-ray examination of luggage must be replaced with those of new generation, and metal detector frames. But they will not be the last generation that will enable the board to board liquids. This class of metal detectors have not yet been produced worldwide, but their price will be about 1 million per unit. Still pending repair of airport Terminal 2, where the arrivals hall to be constituted in a manner suitable for the separation of passengers landing from countries outside Schengen. The total cost of this repair, the installation of two stairways, will amount to about 1,5 million.

Terminals

Terminal 1

This terminal, which is well known to the inbound/outbound passengers in Sofia, now has a new name - Terminal 1. It was built in the first half of the 20th century and opened on 16 September 1937. It has been extended and improved many times, fundamentally renovated in 2000, still making, though, curious allusions to the latest history of the continent. Terminal 1 offers easy access, simple procedures and efficient services up to the modern airport standard.

Terminal 2

The waiting area of the old Terminal 1

Terminal 2 was officially opened on 27 December 2006 with the symbolic arrival of Bulgaria Air flight FB 408 from Brussels. It was one of the biggest projects in Bulgaria to receive funds from the EU ISPA programme. The price includes the new terminal, new aircraft parking aprons, upgrading the existing aircraft parking aprons and the construction of connecting taxiways. The terminal has seven air-bridges (gates A1, B5-9 and C1), 38 check-in desks and covers an area of 50,000 sq m and has a car park for 820 vehicles. It is located to the east of Terminal 1 and is significantly bigger than the old one which continues to serve low-cost and charter airlines.

The passenger terminal building is designed with a capacity of 2,000 peak hour passengers or up to 2.6 million passengers a year, plus 26,000 tonnes of luggage. For the first time in Bulgaria, a terminal has airbridge-equipped gates instead of relying on airside busses.

The Sofia Airport Centre, a premiere corporate office, hospitality and logistics centre in Bulgaria is being constructed in the vicinity.

The infrastructure surrounding the building was expected to be completed in 2007. It includes a new dual carriageway road connecting the terminal to the existing airport road, and landscaping including an artificial lake and a fountain.The airlines ticketing offices, tourist and car hire desks, banks, post office, and cafeterias in Terminal 2 are located in the public area. The travel retail shops, Bulgarian wine and spirits shop and Business lounges are located airside beyond the area of border control. Terminal 2 is designed with special attention to disabled passengers. Their access to the different terminal levels and the multi-storey car park is facilitated via lifts and escalators.

Airlines and destinations

Scheduled flights

Airlines Destinations Terminal

Aeroflot Moscow-Sheremetyevo 2

Aerosvit Airlines Kiev-Boryspil 2

Aerosvit Airlines operated by Dniproavia Kiev-Boryspil 2

Air France Paris-Charles de Gaulle 2

Air Malta Athens [begins 28 March], Malta 2

Alitalia Rome-Fiumicino 2

Austrian Airlines Vienna 2

Austrian Airlines operated by Tyrolean Airways Vienna 2

BH Air Seasonal: Bristol, Cardiff, Dubai, East Midlands, Edinburgh, London-Gatwick, Manchester, Newcastle, Sharjah 1

British Airways London-Heathrow 2

Bulgaria Air Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin-Tegel, Brussels, Burgas, Frankfurt, Larnaca, London-Heathrow, Madrid, Málaga, Milan-Malpensa, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Rome-Fiumicino, Tel Aviv, Tripoli, Varna, Vienna, Zürich

Seasonal: Alicante, Antalya, Aqaba, Beirut [restarts 1 May], Cairo, Dubai, Hurghada, Katowice, Kiev-Boryspil, Malta, Monastir, Sharm el-Sheikh, Skopje, St Petersburg, Tenerife-South, Tirana 2

Cimber Sterling Copenhagen 1

Cyprus Airways Larnaca 2

Czech Airlines Prague 2

Donbassaero Seasonal: Donetsk 1

EasyJet London-Gatwick, Manchester 1

El Al Tel Aviv 2

Germanwings Cologne/Bonn 1

LOT Polish Airlines Warsaw 2

Lufthansa Frankfurt, Munich 2

Lufthansa Regional operated by Augsburg Airways Munich 2

Lufthansa Regional operated by Eurowings Düsseldorf 2

Lufthansa Regional operated by Lufthansa CityLine Frankfurt 2

Malév Hungarian Airlines Budapest 2

Monarch Airlines Seasonal: Birmingham, Bristol, London-Gatwick 2

Niki Vienna 2

Nouvelair Seasonal: Monastir 1

Olympic Air Athens 2

Pegasus Airlines Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen 2

Pegasus Airlines Seasonal: Antalya, Bodrum 1

Qatar Airways Doha [begins 14 September] 2

Swiss International Air Lines Zürich 2

TAROM Bucharest-Henri Coandă 2

Thomas Cook Airlines Seasonal: London-Gatwick, Manchester 2

Thomson Airways Seasonal: Birmingham, Bristol, London-Gatwick, Manchester 2

Travel Service Airlines Seasonal: Katowice 2

Turkish Airlines Istanbul-Atatürk 2

Wind Rose Aviation Seasonal: Kharkiv 1

Wizz Air Barcelona, Beauvais-Tillé, Brussels South-Charleroi, Dortmund, Eindhoven, Forlì, Hahn, London-Luton, Madrid, Milan-Orio al Serio, Rome-Fiumicino, Valencia, Venice-Treviso

Seasonal: Málaga [begins 4 April] 1

Charter flights

Terminal 2

Airlines Destinations Terminal

Air VIA Monastir, Sharjah, Varna 1

Bulgarian Air Charter Cairo, Copenhagen, Dubrovnik, Lisbon, Malaga, Malta, Monastir, Porto 1

North American Airlines Military charters 1

Omni Air International Military charters 1

Ryan International Airlines Military charters 1

SunExpress Antalya 1

World Airways Military charters (Atlanta, Bishkek, Leipzig, etc.)  1

Cargo airlines

Toward RVD

Airlines Destinations

Cargoair Charters

DHL Express Leipzig/Halle

DHL Aviation operated by European Air Transport Bratislava

TNT Airways Liège

UPS Airlines operated by Farnair Switzerland Basel/Mulhouse

Traffic figures

Traffic at Sofia Airport

Year Passengers Change Cargo (tonnes) Change Aircraft movements Change

1998 1,250,700 10,180 24,726

1999 1,236,610 1.1% 12,378 21.6% 25,178 1.8%

2000 1,127,866 8.8% 11,036 10.8% 24,785 1.6%

2001 1,107,682 1.8% 10,381 5.9% 21,860 11.8%

2002 1,214,198 9.6% 12,482 20.2% 24,211 10.8%

2003 1,356,469 11.7% 13,461 7.8% 25,517 5.4%

2004 1,614,304 19.0% 14,472 7.5% 28,700 12.5%

2005 1,874,000 16.1% 14,725 1.7% 32,188 12.2%

2006 2,209,350 17.9% 15,241 3.5% 38,119 18.4%

2007 2,745,880 24.3% 17,392 14.1% 43,005 12.8%

2008 3,230,696 17.7% 18,294 5.2% 48,626 13.1%

2009 3,134,657 3.0% 15,093 17.5% 45,698 6.0%

2010 3,296,936 5.2% 15,322 1.5% 47,061 3.0%

2011 (01.01-02.28) 509,623 2.8% 2,500 6.4% 7,246 1.8%

Transport links

Bus

The bus routes connecting Sofia Airport to the city centre

Two bus routes (No 84 and 384) connect the airport. Line 84 goes to the Sofia University and Line 384 to the Mladost 1 Metro Station (working hours 5 a.m. - 23 p.m every 20-30 minutes).[18] Note: The image on the right shows the old situation from 2010, in January 2011 the bus lines changed to the above descripted situation)

Shuttle bus

A small shuttle bus (No 30) connects the first terminal with the city centre and Sofia's biggest residential area of Lyulin.

Taxi

Taxis are available at the landside of the arrivals areas of Terminals 1 and 2. OK Supertrans is the official taxi provider to Sofia airport. Taxi cost 5 - 7 Euro (10 to 15 leva) to the city centre. Fraudsters, posing as a taxi driver in the lobby often require 50 or more € for a ride into town. The official price must be showed on the window of each cab - in is currently (02/2011) 0,59/0,70 Lewa per kilometre (day/night).

Private transfer service can be booked in advance at HHB Transfers

A Shuttle service from Sofia Airport terminal one and two runs in the winter season to Bansko Bansko Express Shuttle Service

Metro

An extension of the Sofia Metro Line 1 is planned to reach the airport in 2014. Construction began on July 2010.

Incidents and accidents

On December 22, 1971, a Balkan Airlines Il-18, crashed en route to Algeria. 28 people on board died.

On 10 January 1984, a Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Tupolev Tu-134 crashed on approach in bad weather. All 50 people on board died.

On 2 August 1988, a Balkan Airlines Yak-40, crashed in Iskar river. There were 28 fatalities from 37 passengers on board.

(source:wikipedia)