Bulgarian PM's Football Pals Used Govt Aircraft Illegally

Bulgarian Prime Minister and Vitosha Bistritsa forward Boyko Borisov. Photo by BGNES

The use of a government aircraft by Bulgarian Prime Minister's amateur football team and its opponents was illegal under the country's legislation, local officials have reiterated.

At the end of July, Borisov's lower-tier team Vitosha Bistritsa and the team of Chavdar Etropole notoriously flew to the Black Sea city of Varna to play a friendly game using the government Airbus A319.

Borisov  stated that the team of Chavdar Etropole paid for the controversial flight, claiming there was "nothing wrong" with it.

However, officials from the Bulgarian Civil Aviation Administration have now told Capital Daily that the government Airbus A319 is not permitted to carry out commercial flights.

The aircraft is not registered under Ordinance 37, the one that regulates all commercial airliners in the country, the officials have clarified.

Recently, Tsvyatko Lukanov, a former head of the air detachment which operates government aircraft in the country, also declared that the flight was illegal.

The friendly game was allegedly scheduled after Borisov lost a cards game bet against controversial MP Emil Dimitrov from the ruling centrist-right GERB party, who is the honorary president of Chavdar.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!