Six Flights Diverted and Five Cancelled as Fierce Winds Paralyse Operations at the Capital’s Airport

Gale-force winds on Tuesday caused significant disruption to flights at Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport, with footage circulated on social media showing passengers’ reactions — among them several well-known Bulgarian actors.

The strong southerly winds forced multiple aircraft to divert away from the capital.

Ivan Dyaksov, Deputy Director-General of Bulgaria’s Air Traffic Services Authority, told the BNT programme The Day Begins on November 18 that the turbulent conditions had created serious operational challenges:

“Six flights were diverted to alternative airports and five were cancelled. In such situations, the decision to land always rests with the captain. Our air-traffic controllers’ task is to provide accurate information — namely wind speed and direction. We receive this data at runway level, but it can differ from the conditions on approach. Still, the decision to go around or divert lies with the aircraft’s captain, in coordination with their operations centre.”

Dyaksov explained that the severe gusts were linked to a foehn effect, which produced wind speeds of up to 100 km/h:

“The foehn effect — the anomaly we experienced yesterday and which is still ongoing — resulted in a very strong southerly wind of nearly 100 km/h, misaligned with the runway. It was an exceptionally difficult day; colleagues with more than 25 years’ experience said they could not recall similar conditions.”

He added that some of the flights diverted due to the strong winds had since managed to return to Sofia. Although gusts of up to 60 km/h were still being recorded, there were no further diversions. Dyaksov urged passengers to remain calm during such weather-related disruptions.