Sofia Airport

Not Verified | 4 benches for arrivals at the terminal. People sit on the ground and I understand them. You should be ashamed or why do it when you have comfortable chairs in offices. What do you care that there are people with small children.

Not Verified | Arrived in full Plane and just two passport controls open. Taxi driver try to rip you off so be careful. They do have a lovely airport park with pond but you cannot get down to it on foot which makes no sense at all. Would be nice if they made access to it from the shuttle train side.

✅ Trip Verified | If you ever wondered what it would be like to walk into a parallel universe where everyone is having a bad day every day, Sofia Airport is your ticket to that adventure. I step off the plane to be greeted by the most unfriendly and rudest staff I’ve ever encountered. Immigration at Sofia Airport deserves a special mention. These guys are clearly operating under their own version of Schengen rules – possibly sourced from an alternate dimension where logic and common sense don’t exist. It’s like they’re playing a game of “How confused can we make this traveler?” And let's talk prices. They’re right up there with other major airports, but the friendliness? It’s nowhere to be found. It’s like paying for first-class service and getting a seat in the luggage compartment. In conclusion, there’s absolutely no reason to come here or transit here unless you have a particular fondness for being insulted. If that’s your thing, congratulations, you’ve just found your worldwide number 1 destination. So if you're into adventures of the unfriendly kind, pack your bags and head to Sofia Airport. Just don't expect any warm welcomes or helpful staff. You've been warned!

Not Verified | I would not call Terminal 1 of Sofia Airport a terminal for international flights! This (T1) is more like an intercity bus station - unclean, with insufficient seating, with only 3 (three!) kiosks called (I don't know why). Duty free, provided that the prices in them are equal, and in some cases even higher, than those in stores in Bulgaria! Boarding organization is bordering on ZERO! The so-called "gates" are indicated by some signs, but in no way are they separated into separate areas! Не бих нарекъл Терминал 1 на летище София терминал за международни полети! Това (Т1) по-скоро е нещо като междуселска автогара - непочистено, с недостатъчно места за сядане, само с 3 (три!) павилиона, наречени (не знам защо). Duty free при условие, че цените в тях са равни, а в някои случаи дори и по-високи от тези в магазините в България! Организацията по качването в самолетите граничи с НУЛА! Т. нар. "гейтове" са обозначени с някакви табели, но по никакъв начин не са обособени в отделни зони!

Not Verified | Really rude staff in different positions, from check in to security. It is the worst airport I have ever visited. And definitely ruined their country's image.

Not Verified | If you enjoy dealing with "customer service" staff who spend the entire interaction staring intently at the floor - during check-in and AGAIN at the gate, then this is the airport for you! Uncouth all around. Two anaconda-like queues at passport control. The silent officer stared into my eyes so many times while fiddling with my (EU) passport, I felt like I was FBI Most Wanted. Just a necessary evil, this airport.

✅ Trip Verified | I am happy to say that I didn't encounter any problems with the staff at Sofia Airport, though I did create a problem of my own. I assumed that Ryanair used Terminal 1 and only realized my mistake after 10 minutes of failing to find my flight on the departure board. There are no signs to Terminal 2, and it is a rather convoluted walk through a car park and along a couple of busy roads. The walk took me 30 minutes, with only minimal luggage. When I rechecked Google Maps later, the route offered was close to two hours. (I read online that there is a shuttle bus every 30 minutes, but I didn't see any sign of that, either.) Once I was in the right terminal, the security and passport lines moved at reasonable speed, and the staff were professional, if not overly friendly. My arrival was also fine, though I did get stuck in a passport queue when the unfriendly immigration officer took against the passenger ahead of me.

✅ Trip Verified | It was the worst experience I’ve ever had at an airport. A security agent who checked our IDs was super aggressive for no reason, and swore at us in Bulgarian thinking that we wouldn’t understand him. I have seen a few aggressive officers around in my life, however I’ve never been sworn at for no reason, so that was a shock, and I can’t believe that people like him are allowed to do jobs like this and are not fired. I then wanted to report him, however I was told that I needed to get out of the airport, report him, and then go through security all over again, and I didn’t have time to do this. I would like to mention here that all airport staff we encountered were absolutely horribly rude and unhelpful. They all need proper training.

✅ Trip Verified | OK. First impressions on arrival were neutral. A somewhat dated airport by appearance, linking to reflections of the 1970s where I was a youngster. Anyway, as a frequent air traveller with Partially Restricted Mobility (PRM) I am acutely conscious of the fact that having metal inside my body following reconstructive surgery is likely to activate the security metal detection archway. So it happened at Sofia Airport. Despite showing a medical card and explaining my medical situation I was then forced through the default procedure adopted by less progressive countries. So, in this case remove shoes and jumper; despite both being clothe. Of course this does not stop the activation on reentering the archway. So, with PRM I have to remove footwear (I have restricted mobility) and suffer the indignity of further removal of clothing (in public) which exposes sensitive (to me) tissue scarring, and then repeated attempts to not activate the machine. Do I need to go thro’ naked? Why is the default not to immediately use the handheld metal detector for people with declared PRM? At progressive airports this has been my experience and avoids embarrassment, whilst treating PRM people with dignity. Of course, ideally fully body X-ray machines would completely eradicate this issue. Shame on you, Sofia Airport security staff. Don’t just default to basic principles; have a progressive and appropriate security protocol for passengers with PRM.

✅ Trip Verified | The worst airport in Europe. Bad customer service, waiting time terrible. I am at terminal 1 and the priority line is served by only person only for all flights and economy is moving faster with two people at the check in. Toilets are so dirty. Disgusting!