Dubai-based cargo carrier leverages its ACC3 air cargo security designation to open the EU corridor, extending its network beyond the Global South for the first time
SolitAir, the UAE’s dedicated B2B, airport-to-airport cargo airline, today announced the launch of cargo services to the Vasil Levski Sofia Airport (SOF), Bulgaria – its first destination in the European Union and a milestone route made possible by the carrier’s ACC3 (Air Cargo and Mail Carrier from a Third Country) designation, granted by the Belgian Civil Aviation Authority.
The new service connects SolitAir’s hub at Dubai World Central (DWC) directly to South-Eastern Europe, opening a corridor that links the carrier’s established Middle East, Africa and Asia network to the EU single market for the first time.
Hamdi Osman, Founder & CEO of SolitAir, said: “Sofia is more than a new dot on the map – it is the first European link in a network we have built city by city across some of the world’s most commercially vital, yet underserved, trade routes. Our ACC3 certification was never just a regulatory milestone; it was the key that would let us connect the markets we already serve to Europe.”
Sofia occupies a strategic position at the crossroads of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, with established road and rail links into the EU’s wider single market. The city has developed into a regional logistics and manufacturing base, with growing demand for time-critical air freight spanning e-commerce, automotive components, pharmaceuticals and perishables – sectors that align closely with SolitAir’s existing cargo specialisms. The route gives EU-based freight forwarders, integrators and e-commerce businesses a direct link into SolitAir’s wider network across the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, the STAN countries and China.
The launch follows SolitAir’s receipt of ACC3 status, which authorises the carrier to transport cargo and mail into the European Union and European Economic Area in compliance with EU aviation security requirements. Combined with its existing UAE GCAA Air Operator’s Certificate and EASA Third Country Operator (TCO) authorisation, the designation completes the regulatory foundation required for SolitAir to operate scheduled freighter services into EU airspace.
The Sofia launch represents a structural expansion of SolitAir’s network logic. Since its operational launch in October 2024, the airline has grown to 56 routes across more than 34 countries, including a 17-city network across Africa, anchored by a hub in Nairobi. The addition of a European destination signals the next phase of that growth, as the carrier’s certifications and network density increasingly connect markets beyond its original Global South footprint.
SolitAir operates a fleet of seven Boeing 737-800 BCF freighters, each with 20-tonne cargo capacity, optimised for the reliability, range and versatility required to carry dangerous goods, pharmaceuticals, perishables, valuable and oversized freight. The airline is targeting fleet growth to 20 aircraft operating from its 20,440-square-metre cargo hub at Dubai World Central (DWC), Al Maktoum International Airport.
