On 29 October 2025 the Bulgarian government made a decision to appoint a small private airline GullivAir to conduct 7 flights per week to Pakistan – 4 to Karachi and 3 to Lahore.
Meeting of the Council of Minsters by the Government of Bulgaria from 29 October 2025, as evidenced by Protocol #43 (accessible here: https://www.strategy.bg/bg/pris/legal-information/%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB/167778). Point number 5 was entered by the Deputy PM and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov.
It read: “1. Draft Decision on the appointment of GullivAir EOOD as an air carrier to operate on the international air routes Sofia-Karachi-Sofia and Sofia-Lahore-Sofia, agreed upon by the Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of Bulgaria and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on Air Communications, signed on October 22, 1969 in Islamabad, and the Memorandum of Understanding between the Aeronautical Authorities of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Aeronautical Authorities of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, signed on October 20, 2015 in Antalya.”
The decision was official on 31 October 2025 by Decision #736 and it read “1. Designates GullivAir EOOD as an air carrier designated by the Republic of Bulgaria, with the right to operate passenger/combined services with 4 frequencies per week on the Sofia-Karachi-Sofia route and with 3 frequencies per week on the Sofia-Lahore-Sofia route, agreed upon in the Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of Bulgaria and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on Air Services, signed on 22 October 1969 in Islamabad, and the Memorandum of Understanding between the Aeronautical Authorities of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Aeronautical Authorities of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, signed on 20 October 2015 in Antalya.
2. The Minister of Foreign Affairs shall notify the Pakistani side through diplomatic channels of the decision under item 1.” (accessible here: https://www.strategy.bg/bg/pris/legal-information/reseniia/167818)
Who is the carrier
GullivAir is not the national carrier of Bulgaria. It is a small private company, currently operating 2 planes – Airbus A330-200, which can carry up to 335 passengers or 70 tons of cargo. Call sign – VAGABOND. The company started operations in 2020 when it received operational license in September 2020 (during the government of PM Boyko Borisov) with the first Airbus A330-200, which they got from Shaheen Airlines – Pakistan’s second largest airline which had stopped operations and had offices closed.
GullivAir received large publicity when it came out that it would operate various domestic and international flights shortly after its inception, but in the later years nothing materialized and pressed by inability to land travel routes, the company went to the ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance) leasing market operating flights for other airlines.
From their website, they currently do not operate any line, but a new line will be available in December 2025 – Bulgaria (Sofia International Airport) – Thailand (Phuket International Airport) at the rate of 1 flight per week.
From a post on Facebook on 5 November 2025 by the General Council of Bulgaria in Chicago, Svetoslav Stankov, it becomes clear that they’ve met with Angie Kocerka, Deputy Commissioner in Marketing, Partnerships and Development and Christine Pundaleva, Deputy Commissioner in Marketing from the Chicago Department of Aviation, where the establishment of the Chicago-Sofia line was discussed. Economy.bg reports that the New York (JFK Airport) – Sofia line is also in final talks. (https://www.economy.bg/bulgaria/view/62683/GullivAir-startira-direktni-poleti-Sofiya-%E2%80%93-SASht-ot-april-2026%C2%A0g).
The development of the lines with the US, however, is not clear. There is no decision by the Bulgarian government about the lines Sofia – Chicago and Sofia – New York. The push from the Bulgarian side for direct flights to the US has been going on since May 2022 when the US ambassador at the time Herro Mustafa announced that such flights would be possible that year and it was noted that the same airline had the licenses to operate flights to New York and Toronto.
What is the destination
Pakistan has no major significance for Bulgaria. It has no Bulgarian diaspora and it is not a common travel destination by Bulgarians. The country is not listed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a place with Bulgarian communities and social media and travel websites do not suggest much interest. The National Statistics Institute does not include it in the first 58 countries with the largest trade relationships.
The frequency (4 times a week to Karachi and 3 times a week to Lahore) is similar to the frequency of the national carrier Bulgaria Air to major European cities with large Bulgarian communities – such frequency would imply the potential to transport up to 10,000 people or 2,100 tons of cargo per month in one direction.
It is very unusual to have a company without a single active operating line get 2 destinations with high frequency and possibly discussing another one or two transatlantic flights. Unless there are other plans, public data shows that the flights to Pakistan should not be profitable and the flights to the US have the potential to carry the company financially.
