Sofia International Airport (SOF), the main airport in Bulgaria, will be closed to all civilian traffic between 1:15am and 2:50am on February 23, 2026, and 1:05am and 3:35am on February 24, 2026, all times local.
The closure has been notified through a NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) issued on February 20, 2026. While no reason has officially being specified for the closure other than “runway closure due to work in progress”, it is widely suspected to be connected to the US military build-up in the Middle East.
In fact, several US Air Force aircraft have been arriving in Sofia over the preceding days in support of this deployment.
On February 19, 2026, for example, photographs appeared on social media channels showing at least six KC-135R/T Stratotankers which had reportedly flown in from MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.
Sofia airport has dual commercial and military use. Its military side, where the US aircraft were seen parked, is known as Vrazhdebna Air Base or, alternatively, as the 16th Transport Air Base of the Bulgarian Air Force.
US military aircraft, including numerous tanker aircraft and F-22 fighters, have also been spotted transiting from the United States to bases in Europe and the Middle East.
These movements of United States Air Force assets towards potential staging points in Europe and the Middle East appear to have been intensifying during the second half of February. The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is also said to be underway, steaming at full speed towards the Eastern Mediterranean.
The intended target of this assembled fleet is believed to be Iran. Rumors have been swirling over several weeks about the US administration considering a renewal of the attacks on the Iranian regime’s nuclear facilities.
The use of airports in Bulgaria as a staging point may be due, in part, to the fact that several governments in the Middle East and Europe, including the UK, are said to have denied the US the use of air bases in their territory for Iran-related operations.
