Qatar Airways has launched scheduled flights from the airline’s Doha hub to Bulgaria’s capital city of Sofia.

The Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Boyko Borissov greeted the first flight at a reception late last week, attended by airport officials and dignitaries from the Bulgarian government and local business community.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker led a delegation on the inaugural service from the airline’s operational hub of Doha, capital of the State of Qatar. The delegation included the Bulgarian Charge D’Affaires to Qatar, Miroslav Zafirov, and media from the Gulf region.

Sofia becomes the latest addition to Qatar Airways’ European portfolio this year, which has seen the launch of routes to Bucharest, Budapest, Brussels, Stuttgart and Venice since January. Qatar Airways’ European network now totals 26 cities, representing 25 per cent of the airline’s global network of over 100 destinations.

Qatar Airways says it is the only Five Star-ranked carrier to operate scheduled flights to Sofia, connecting Bulgaria and the surrounding regions of the Balkan Peninsula with more than 100 destinations worldwide.

Qatar Airways’ flights to and from Sofia operate with a brief stop in the Romanian capital, Bucharest.

The Sofia – Doha route is served with an Airbus A320 aircraft featuring up to 12 seats in Business Class and up to 132 seats in Economy. The aircraft offers seatback TV screens providing passengers with the next generation interactive onboard entertainment system featuring a choice of more than 700 audio and video on demand options.

Over the next three months, Qatar Airways will expand its services to the Norwegian capital Oslo, beginning October 5; Entebbe in Uganda from November 2; and the Chinese city of Chongqing on November 28.

Source: Qatar Airways