Berlin Report: Temporary Halt at Sofia International Airport Amid U.S. Military Activity
Over the past weekend, Sofia International Airport in Bulgaria experienced two temporary shutdowns of its civilian air services as it accommodated a group of U.S. military aircraft. This development has led to widespread conjecture that the U.S. might be preparing for possible military action against Iran.
According to the Bulgarian news source Obektivno.BG, official notices indicated that the airport was closed to civilian flights from 01:15 to 02:50 on February 23 and from 01:05 to 03:35 on February 24. These closures occurred during hours when commercial flights are typically not scheduled.
The airport authorities have stated that the closures were due to standard maintenance of the runways and denied any connections to the presence of U.S. military forces.
Images shared on social media reveal the presence of at least six KC-135 Stratotanker refueling planes from the 6th Air Refueling Wing based in MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, as well as several C-17 and C-130 cargo aircraft, and Boeing 747s, which are commonly used for transporting troops. These aircraft were reportedly parked at Terminal 1 of the airport, as reported by Obektivno.BG.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Defense has acknowledged the presence of U.S. Air Force assets, describing it as part of a support operation for NATO’s heightened alert exercises. The ministry noted that American personnel were involved exclusively in maintenance activities related to these aircraft. The caretaker Foreign Minister, Nadezhda Neynsky, admitted that her department had limited information on the matter and had instructed her team to gather more details.
This staging in Sofia is just a component of a broader mobilization of American military assets. Bulgarian journalists have documented the crossing of over 120 U.S. Air Force planes across the Atlantic in a matter of days, which includes a fleet of F-16s, three squadrons of F-35A stealth fighters, and a dozen F-22 Raptors.
Prior activities similar to these, including the positioning of F-22s at RAF Lakenheath, were precursors to the U.S.-led Operation Midnight Hammer, which targeted Iranian nuclear facilities last June. Currently, the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group is navigating towards the Arabian Sea to join the already present USS Abraham Lincoln.
Meanwhile, the U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has reportedly denied the U.S. permission to utilize two strategic British-controlled bases—RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and the joint US-UK facility at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean—for any impending operations against Iran, as per a report by The Times of London.
This military buildup is occurring alongside critical nuclear negotiations. President Donald Trump, in a statement on February 19 at the first meeting of his Board of Peace, gave Tehran approximately ten days to finalize a nuclear deal, cautioning that failure could lead to severe consequences. Last week, U.S. representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with an Iranian delegation in Geneva. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi noted that while some common principles were agreed upon, significant differences still need to be bridged.
Since joining NATO in 2004, Bulgaria has maintained a Defense Cooperation Agreement with the United States, signed in 2006, which allows U.S. forces access to Bulgarian military facilities.
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Jamal Peterson reports on defense, aerospace, and tech policy. With a military background and a strategic mind, he dissects complex subjects with clarity, offering readers sharp, reliable insights.
