Months before reaching retirement age, Prof. Dobri Yarkov, the rector of Trakia University in Stara Zagora, is planning to open new faculties and specialties, making grand advertisements in the media, despite the fact that they do not even have accreditation. In a statement today, February 18, 2025, Yarkov claims: “By May 24, we will have a new faculty of digital and green technologies, where specialists of the future will be trained. We expect to start with 1,000 students across various specialties – software engineering, information technology, cybersecurity, hydrogen engineers, electrical engineers, and renewable energy sources – meaning in the fields of green energy and digitalization.
Last summer, at a special press conference, the rector announced the beginning of pilot training at the university: “The need for pilots, not only in Bulgaria but worldwide, is very serious. For the past 10 months, we have been working in this direction, consulting with international organizations and in collaboration with Valeri Iliev – head of the pilot training school for civil aviation “Olympia Air,” Lilcho Lilov – manager of Lesnovo Airport, and pilots Milko Zapryanov and Krasimir Velikov. We can now officially announce that this fall we will start training aviation specialists at the university – pilots, aviation engineers, flight attendants, ground and flight crew.”
The aviation department will be part of the new faculty of digital and green technologies. University faculty members comment that the rector secured an agreement with Krasimir Valchev – a former Stara Zagora MP from GERB, who is now the minister of education and science, and that the idea for its establishment is supported by the local authority and business. The training of pilots will take place at Stara Zagora Airport, which the university aims to operate.
But for now, everything is still in the planning stages, joke Yarkov’s colleagues about his ideas. Training for aviation specialists did not commence last fall and will not start this year either. This is made clear in a written response from Minister Krasimir Valchev to Stara Zagora MPs from “Revival,” Iskra Mihaylova and Daniel Prodanov, regarding the rector’s intention to use the existing runway at Stara Zagora Airport for pilot training and the development of aviation educational programs.
Citing the Higher Education Act, the minister explains that higher education institutions do not have the right to conduct training in unaccredited specialties or to issue diplomas to graduates: “As of now (January 24 of this year), the Trakia University does not have an accredited professional field 5.5. ‘Transport, Shipping, and Aviation’ and has not submitted a request to the National Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation for the establishment of such a professional field or structural unit within the higher education institution.” However, even if the rector submits such a request, based on the data in the Higher Education Map in Bulgaria at the moment, the establishment of this field is not permitted, meaning the probability of a Faculty of Digital and Green Technologies and an Aviation Department being created in the near future approaches zero.
In his response to the Stara Zagora representatives from “Revival,” Minister Valchev also points out the significant fact that Stara Zagora Airport is unlicensed, and its runway does not meet current requirements and standards—facts widely known to the Stara Zagora public and, consequently, to Prof. Yarkov.
Although the university, as indicated in Minister Valchev’s letter to the Stara Zagora MPs from “Vazrazhdane,” is not accredited for pilot training, an announcement was published on its website last November stating that Trakia University offers joint training for aspiring pilots in collaboration with Olympia Air Ltd. (OLIMPIA AIR) – a certified organization by the Chief Directorate “Civil Aviation Administration” for pilot training in civil aviation, in accordance with the requirements of the European Aviation Safety Agency. The program includes two months of theoretical training conducted at Trakia University for a fee of 1,900 BGN and an additional two months of flight training for the sum of 35,500 BGN at Lesnovo Private Airport, owned by Intersky Ltd., part of “Albena Holding” AD, with which Trakia University has a partnership.
Lilcho Lilov – the manager of Lesnovo Airport and a pilot with 37 years of experience, claims that after the COVID crisis, a significant number of pilots in civil aviation left the profession and sought opportunities in other fields, leading to a shortage of personnel. Therefore, several Bulgarian airlines, with which they held meetings, have shown serious interest in the future training of pilots at Trakia University.
In an interview with Za Istinata (“For the Truth,”) Lilcho Lilov explained that the Stara Zagora university will conduct the first stage of training for aspiring pilots (PPL(A)) in the form of postgraduate qualification. Those who successfully complete it will be able to continue their training, funded by airlines, to obtain a license for professional pilots in civil aviation. The idea is for Trakia University to establish such a specialty in the Department of Aviation Engineering, where aviation engineers will also be trained. However, to open a faculty and the respective departments, qualified instructors are needed, who, according to Lilov, will be recruited from “Olympia Air,” the Technical University, and the Institute for Civil Aviation.
For all of this to happen, a runway is needed for the practical training of future pilots.
To achieve this, the runway at Stara Zagora Airport must be preserved and restored, which will require tens of millions of BGN. However, at the proposal of the mayor of the municipality, Zhivko Todorov, the Municipal Council voted for the airport to be purchased from the state for 50 million BGN via a bank loan, with plans to establish a new industrial zone on its territory.
From everything said so far, it appears that Trakia University, at this stage, is offering ordinary training courses for amateur pilots, organized on the same principle as driver training courses, only at an exorbitantly high price.
For the sum of 37,400 BGN, graduates will receive the right to operate small aircraft. In comparison, a training course for an ultra-light aircraft costs around 12,000 BGN. When asked who set these prices and how the money will be distributed between Trakia University, “Olympia Air” Ltd., and Lesnovo Airport, Mr. Lilov stated that the question is not within his competence.
The question remains unanswered as to why two private companies need a state university to organize their business venture. Ultimately, does this not amount to a straightforward scheme?
