Category: Media center

Test of English for Aviation (TEA), the approved English Language Proficiency Test for aviation professionals, used by BULATSA training center, now has a new, improved version.
The new version 5.0 of the test will be in use from 01 October 2018.
TEA now has a new, improved version that will be in use from 01 October 2018.
Go to https://www.tea-test.com for samples of the new Part 2 task. Challenge yourself to do well with the new recordings and the Task Card.
An updated version of the Notes for Candidates matching the new test format can be found below.
An updated Guide for Candidates and Teachers is available here.
Since Part 2 has changed, it is strongly recommended that candidates practice the task using the materials here.
BULATSA wishes success to all TEA candidates!

The winner in the campaign “50 years BULATSA” Nikolay Krastev received today the grand prize for his proposal „50 years we are drawing paths in the skies“. BULATSA Director General Mr. Georgi Peev handed over to the winner a drone DJI Mavic Air WH and recommended him to comply with the rules of its use. Mr. Nikolay Krastev visited BULATSA Operational room and the Tower where the traffic in the airspace of our country is served. „I am impressed by the work of the air traffic controllers and I am happy to be a part of BULATSA jubilee. I believe that the slogan „We are drawing paths in the skies“shows the essence of this important profession. For me, the air traffic controllers are the architectures in the skies because they must take each flight on its way from one airport to another in the safest way. Most of us, the common people, cannot imagine what is the responsibility behind this profession“, said Nikolay Krastev.
According to the rules of safe use of drones he will be responsible for each flight of his remote (unmanned) aircraft after receiving of written permission from the Civil Aviation Authority in a reserved for this purpose airspace.
Using drone without permission of CAA is subject of a fine from 1 000 to 10 000 BGN under Art. 144, para 5 of the Civil Aviation Act. The drone shall be kept in sight, within the reserved for the purpose airspace and in a safe distance from people or their property.
It is compulsory to use drones away from airports and airfields both civil and military.

State enterprise Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority serviced a record number of flights for July. The realized number of flights for the month is 100 418, which is a 11.51% increase compared to 2017 when their number was 90 054.
The number of international flights for the month, which have landed in and departed from our country, is 14 249. There is an increase of 945 flights or 7.10% compared to the same month of last year.
BULATSA has serviced more domestic flights in July 2018 also. Over the last month they were 1 711, while for the same period in 2017 their number was 1 699.
The largest increase however is recorded in the number of serviced overflying international aircraft. For the seventh month of this year have been recorded 84 458 flights, compared to 75 051 for 2017. This is a 12.53% increase.
In 2018, BULATSA reported one more record also. Bulgarian air traffic controllers took part in the servicing of one of the longest-lasting flights in the world. This is the flight of Qantas airline between Perth, Australia and London, lasting more than 17 hours and flying over 14 000 kilometers without a stopover.

BULATSA inaugured its own Security Operations Center (SOC).
The project for its construction is implemented through co-financing from the Cohesion Fund of the European Commission under Connecting Europe Facility.

The project is one of its kind amongst the projects currently being implemented with funding from the European Commission and entirely follows the latest trends in the field of cyber-threat protection.
The Security Operations Center is an overall solution that will provide effective protection against cyber-threats to the BULATSA’s IT infrastructure, including its remote locations – the air traffic control centers in Varna, Burgas, Plovdiv and Gorna Oryahovitsa.
The platform encompasses people, processes and technologies involved in the network control and monitoring, incident response, research and active search for known or unknown, conventional and modern cyber-threats.
Presently, BULATSA is the only air navigation services provider in the Balkans, which has successfully implemented such a project.
The project funding will continue in 2019 also, with additional fine tunings and system improvements being made during this period.

Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority (BULATSA) notifies aircraft operators and users of the Bulgarian airspace regarding the publication of the sixth edition of Aeronautical chart 1:500 000. The chart is available and may be ordered through the AIS department by sending the order form, given in Appendix to Aeronautical Information Circular – AIC 06/18.
The order form is provided below.

Starting yesterday, BULATSA implemented area navigation at Plovdiv Airport. The plan for modernization of the airspace organization of Plovdiv TMA was completed with the publication of new approach and departure procedures based on area navigation, duly approved by DG CAA in its capacity as national supervisory authority.
The procedures have been developed in accordance with ICAO SARPs for the application of area navigation and are the first of this kind at Plovdiv Airport. Their introduction create new possibilities for flexible definition of flight trajectories and possibilities for moving the airplane routes outside of the military training zones, increasing airspace capacity and reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
The introduction of area navigation in Bulgaria started in 2012 with the participation of BULATSA in SHERPA and NASCIO projects, funded by the European Commission.
With the introduction of the changes at Plovdiv Airport, the process of overall modernization of airspace organization and flight procedures in all our civil airports was completed. This places Bulgaria among the leading European countries in the field – the rate of implemented area navigation in Europe by the end of 2018 is expected to be around 60%.
The changes have become possible also thanks to the support of the European Commission, GSA, Eurocontrol, ESSP, Pildo Labs and DG CAA.