Balloon flights near Kostinbrod and Dragovishtitsa, which have sparked a series of scandals in recent days, are legal.

This was personally confirmed by the manager of the club for extreme sports, which organizes the flights in the Western Fields near Sofia.

"We have a commercial license to organize paid flights, our pilots and equipment are also licensed, and the location of the flights is coordinated with the CAA and the Flight Information Center at the State Aviation Administration," said Mario Stoykov, manager and pilot.

When we fly, we declare an area that stretches from Novi Iskar to the town of Slivnitsa and in which no other aircraft fly.

We have constant radio communication with the air traffic controllers of the approach, and the balloon has a transponder so that it can be seen on their radars at all times.

We have a threshold of maximum height - 3000 feet, which is strictly observed.

We land mostly on dirt roads and in places agreed with land tenants, and allegations of animal stress are unfounded.

With the balloon we landed next to cows, which not only were not scared, but came to be curious about what landed among them, Stoykov explained.

"Every passenger can and must request the documents for the flight and the pilot's license before departure.

We observe all safety measures, and the passengers in the basket have insurance ", explains the manager of the club.

Illegal balloon flights were screaming around Sofia

According to him, the reason for the tension is the dissatisfaction of a specific group of people united around one of the tenants in Kostinbrod.

Stoykov also confirmed that the goal of his club is to turn the area into a tourist destination, and the sight of beautiful balloons to replace the sight of dusty, noisy, gravel-filled trucks from the local quarry.

We are the only club in Bulgaria that currently has all the necessary licenses, including a school for training young pilots.

We comply with all regulations and laws and have never flown recklessly anywhere. Citizens may be worried to see the balloon against the backdrop of wires, but in fact it is high enough and there is no danger.

Moreover, in case of contact with a transmission line, a fire on board is inevitable, Stoykov concluded.

Illegal flights with balloons and other light amateur aircraft are actually carried out in a number of places in the country, showed our blitz-check of the case.

The area in the Kostinbrod area has also become an arena for such flights, but who conducts them can only be determined by the competent institutions authorized to carry out the relevant inspections.

Photos: Extreme Sport Club

Kostinbrod

air balloon

Sofia