One of Europe's largest low-cost airlines, Ryanair, plans to start flying to and from Bulgaria’s second largest city of Plovdiv in September 2010, Bulgaria's Deputy Economy and Tourism Minister Ivo Marinov was quoted as saying by Bulgarian-language media.

But to launch flights to Bulgaria, Ryanair asked for lower landing fees charged by the country's airports, Marinov said during a discussion in Parliament on the topic of Bulgarian tourism. It was a demand that the Cabinet was now considering for the less-used Plovdiv airport, at least for a period of two years.

Plovdiv would be Ryanair’s first destination in Bulgaria.

Bulgarian-language Dnevnik daily also quoted Ivelina Grozdeva of the Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association as saying that Ryanair should be allowed to also operate flights to Sofia, Bourgas and Varna.

The Sofia Echo report