A U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcon sits parked on the flight line as a Bulgarian Su-25 Frogfoot takes off from Bezmer Air Base, Bulgaria, on July 24, 2025. Bulgaria’s prime minister said Friday that U.S. Air Force planes operating out of the country must leave by the end of the month after the U.S. failed to approve a visa-free travel system for Bulgarian citizens. (Jenna Bond/U.S. Air Force)
STUTTGART, Germany — U.S. Air Force planes operating out of Bulgaria must leave by the end of the month in connection with a dispute over civilian travel rules between the countries, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said.
Radev, who took up the post in May, said an airport used by U.S. forces in the capital of Sofia for air refueling missions will be off-limits after the United States failed to approve a visa-free travel system for Bulgarian citizens.
“While I fully understand the complexity of all the regulatory procedures, we also have our priorities and we cannot respond positively to the request for long stays of aircraft and tankers at Sofia airport,” Radev said Friday, as quoted by the Bulgarian News Agency.
He said Bulgaria was giving the U.S. until the end of June to allow “our allies the opportunity to reschedule their activities and find another location.”
U.S. European Command on Monday said it was aware of reports about the Bulgarian leader’s comments.
EUCOM operates at various locations that routinely host transient U.S. military personnel “in accordance with access, basing, and overflight agreements with allies and partners,” the command said.
“Taking into account operations security for U.S. assets and personnel, further details are not releasable,” EUCOM said.
Last month at a NATO foreign ministers meeting, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte highlighted Bulgaria as one of the countries that have made locations available to U.S. forces for operations in Iran.
While President Donald Trump has criticized NATO for what he says is a lack of support for operations against Iran, Pentagon bases and other operational sites across Europe have played a key role in enabling the war, which began Feb. 28 and has since been paused under a ceasefire.
If Bulgaria follows through with its plan, the situation is unlikely to cause major disruptions to U.S. forces, given the access they have to other operational sites.
In neighboring Romania, U.S forces maintain a presence at various locations, including Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, which serves as a hub in the Black Sea region.
Radev did not indicate that any other U.S. military missions are affected by the decision related to U.S. aircraft operating out of Sofia.
The U.S. and other NATO forces routinely send troops Bulgaria for training missions, many of which are conducted at the sprawling Novo Selo Training Area, 130 miles from Sofia.
