BOURGAS AIRPORT – STRENGTHENED SECURITY MEASURES AROUND ISRAELI TOURISTS

For a second consecutive year, strengthened security measures have been maintained around Israeli tourists arriving at and departing from Bourgas airport at the Bulgarian Black Sea resort. Thorough checks of the buses and the facilities of the airport are carried out by the Bulgarian Border Police an hour before each flight. The enhanced security measures were introduced following the 2012 terrorist attack which killed five Israeli tourists and one Bulgarian citizen.

In addition to the checks of the airport facilities, the Border Police examine the luggage of people meeting arriving passengers. The terminal at which the flight from Tel Aviv is scheduled to arrive is closed hours before the aircraft landing. Only representatives of tour operators are allowed access to the terminal and a special security corridor is provided for exclusive use by tourists arriving from Israel and is guarded by the Bulgarian Border Police.

Anton Andonov, the Head of the Border Police Unit at Bourgas airport, says that the purpose is to prevent access of other tourists, people meeting passengers and citizens and thus ensure the Israeli tourists’ safety.

Apart from the visible measures, the Border Police officials explain that there are also some measures which remain unseen by tourists and citizens. However, according to some tour operators, there is not a sufficient number of security police. Alexander Romanov from a tour operator company says that the police are doing their work well and are on duty 24 hours a day, but he thinks more police officers are required.

The security measures continue after the tourists have left the airport terminal. The tourists are taken in a Border Police convoy to buses which have already gone through security checks and even at the slightest suspicion of a problem, the vehicles are stopped for a second security check.

Anton Andonov from the Border Police has added that when the tourist flow from Israel increases, Specialized Police Services from the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior in Bourgas are brought in for additional support.

However, the Israeli tourists show no signs of concern. For them, the terrorist attack from two years ago is not a sufficient reason to cancel their holidays in Bulgaria. In their opinion, Bulgaria offers many attractions which they cannot find in Israel.