Glasgow Airport lands new Sofia service

The service could provide a welcome boost to the nation’s exporters, especially distillers of Scotch looking to expand into Southeastern Europe.

Although overall exports of Scotch have slipped over the last few years, exports to Bulgaria have increased year-on-year since the country joined the EU in 2007.

A spokesman for the Scotch Whisky Association welcomed the news. They told BQ: “Almost 8.5 million bottles of Scotch Whisky were exported to Bulgaria in 2015, up from 6.5 million bottles in 2011.

“Any investment in new routes from Scottish airports is to be welcomed as it will help the Scotch Whisky industry to secure this growth in the Bulgarian market and through it further develop trade links with Southern and Eastern Europe.”

Ryanair, which launched its first service from Glasgow in October 2014, is also adding new services to Alicante, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Malaga, and will also fly to Berlin six times a week.

Ryanair’s sales and marketing executive, Lisa Buckley, said: “We are pleased to expand our Glasgow winter 2016 schedule, with a new route to Sofia, in addition to Alicante, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Malaga, which will deliver over 1.2 million annual customers.”