The private investor who recently obtained the Ruse airport for gratuitous use over the next 10 years is not required to restore regular civil flights.
This is made clear in the contract signed by the Ruse Municipality at the end of February with the company “Airport Ruse.” The agreement does not explicitly state an obligation for the investor to provide regular passenger airline routes.
In a written response from the Ruse Municipality to “Za Istinata,” it was explained that the decision of the Municipal Council, as well as the contract itself, mentions that the airport can only be used as a civil airport. In the event that it does not operate for the intended purpose, the municipality has the right to terminate the contract.
In theory, the municipality can reclaim ownership prematurely if, within the first 24 months, the company fails to carry out 15 specific activities—such as repairing existing infrastructure, licensing, erecting a fence, and others.
“The 15 mandatory points exceed the actions that the user needs to perform to operate flights solely related to hail fighting,” stated the Ruse Municipality in response to a question about how citizens’ interests will be protected. They added that the certificate of operational suitability, which the investor must also obtain within one year, “will allow for the implementation of regular civil flights.”
“Our flights” versus their flights
“Airport Ruse” has an interest in fulfilling all its commitments on time to secure the airport for another eight years, during which it will be able to conduct “its flights” for hail-fighting.
For many years, the primary activity of Hristo Krusharski, one of the owners of the investing company, has been operating aircraft for hail-fighting. From the very beginning, he explained that his initial intention is to renovate Ruse Airport to base “his aircraft” for hail-fighting there. This way, they would service a large area in Bulgaria and neighboring Romania, with the profit financing civil aviation.
In January, in the presence of the mayor of Ruse, Pencho Milkov (BSP), Krusharski predicted that within 3-4 years, the airport should acquire international flight status.
“The first task is to build a fence and lighting for the runway by May so that we can conduct our flights. From there, the more complex activities begin,” Hristo Krusharski said before signing the contract in front of Ruse media. According to him, in the coming years, large passenger aircraft like “Airbus” and “Boeing” will land near Ruse.
The investment intention submitted to the municipality at the end of 2022 includes the renovation of the passenger terminal and equipping it with the necessary technology for screening passengers, luggage, and cargo. It also envisions the construction of a new passenger terminal to accommodate up to 500 passengers during peak hours. However, these points are not stipulated as mandatory in the contract between “Airport Ruse” and the municipality, meaning the investor is not obligated to implement them.
It is noteworthy that the deal for the airport took place literally within a few days. To achieve this, the municipality deliberately hampered an almost completed procedure at the Ministry of Culture for declaring the airport a cultural monument. The explanation was that “the function of the building as an airport needs to be restored.”
From the responses of the Ministry of Culture in February, it became clear that “representatives of the municipality were invited to participate in the meeting (on December 19 of last year, when the Specialized Expert Council for the Protection of Immovable Cultural Heritage voted on the building’s status), but they did not attend.”
On Facebook, the mayor of Ruse stated that “the terminal building will be preserved in its current state, as we insisted.” At a regular session of the Ruse Municipal Council, Milkov explained that the reason for blocking the procedure at the Ministry of Culture was the lack of public discussion on whether to request such status. “The people of Ruse should decide whether it will be a mausoleum or an airport,” the mayor responded to questions from municipal councilors from “Democratic Bulgaria.”
“Repair work is ongoing at Ruse Airport”
Indeed, immediately after signing the contract, “Airport Ruse” began fulfilling its contractual commitments. According to the new owners, almost 2 km of the 9-kilometer perimeter fence of the airfield has been built in just 10 days, without which the airport cannot be certified.
The deal for Ruse Airport occurred at a time when the European Union’s policy increasingly promotes travel by train, while member states like France are implementing bans on civil flights for short distances. These issues, along with the large international airport located only 60 kilometers away in Bucharest, raise questions about the actual prospects for Ruse to have its functioning airport for civil flights.
