A direct flight connecting Bulgaria's Plovdiv and Turkey's Bursa is to be launched in the next few months, according to Ivan Karnabitov, CEO of Plovdiv Airport.

Karnabitov, CEO of Plovdiv Airport, explained at a Thursday sitting of the Plovdiv Municipal Council that the Turkish municipality had stated its commitment to the project, according to reports of the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA).

The opportunities for increasing the number of direct air connections between Plovdiv and a number of European destinations were on the agenda of a discussion on renewing the membership of the Plovdiv Municipality in the not-for-profit association "Route Development Fund – Plovdiv Airport, the South Gate of Bulgaria".

The Plovdiv Municipality has been a member of the Association since 2010 but in early 2013 it left the Association, following a decision of the Plovdiv Municipal Council, according to dnevnik.bg.

On Thursday, the representatives of the Plovdiv Municipal Council approved the renewal of the membership in the Assocation.

"The development of the airport leads to the development of businesses and to job creation," Karnabitov said during Thursday's discussion.

He pointed out that last year the Plovdiv Airport had had serviced some 95 000 passengers in 2013.

The "Route Development Fund – Plovdiv Airport, the South Gate of Bulgaria" fund brings together municipalities from Bulgaria's south-central region interested in the development of the Plovdiv Airport, which pay a membership fee of BGN 0.50 per resident.

The Plovdiv Municipality has so far made contributions worth a total of BGN 802 831.

Plovdiv Mayor Ivan Totev noted that the issue of increasing the fee paid by the Plovdiv Municipality could only be brought up in connection with the achievement of real progress.

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