Between November 12 and 13, a yellow snow code was issued for some regions in Bulgaria. The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a travel warning in this regard.
Snow code yellow in Bulgaria Photo: Archive
Romanian citizens who are in, transiting or intend to travel to Bulgaria are warned that several regions of this country will be affected by heavy precipitation in the form of snow.
A yellow code was issued for the regions of Vidin, Montana, Sofia-region, Sofia-capital, Pernik, Vrața, Loveci, Plovdiv, Gabrovo, Stara Zagora, Veliko Târnovo, Sliven and Târgoviste. The snowpack will reach up to 10 cm and sleet conditions will be encountered.
The MAE recommends Romanian citizens to carefully follow the situation of flights from Bulgarian airports and the weather forecast, and drivers to drive preventively, at an adequate speed and to have their vehicles equipped for driving on public roads in winter conditions and specific weather warnings.
“They are also advised to strictly follow the temporary road signs installed and the indications/signals of the control bodies on site. During the establishment of meteorological warning codes, it is possible that, by the decision of the competent Bulgarian authorities, some categories of roads will be closed to road traffic and air flights will be disrupted in relation to the flight schedule“, informs the MAE, in a press release.
Romanian citizens transiting the Ruse border point are advised to take into account the possibility of an increase in the waiting time at the border crossing, at the bridge fee, in the context in which, from July 10, 2024, the Bulgarian authorities are carrying out repair works on the road rolling of the bridge over the Danube.
Starting from July 5, 2024, the bridge toll can also be paid in the online system, only for vehicles with a passenger capacity of up to 8+1. The bridge toll can still be paid with a bank card or in cash, respectively 2 euros or 4 leva.
At the Bulgarian border points, there are collection centers for the sums of money from taxes, traffic fines or compensatory taxes for the electronic vignette regime, applied on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria. In such cases, the Romanian citizens identified by the system are obliged to pay all their debts to the Bulgarian state, the payment being made only by bank card.
“Taking into account the dynamic nature of the weather conditions that will be recorded during the winter season on the Bulgarian territory (warning codes for low temperatures, falling precipitation in the form of snow, the appearance of blizzards and sleet), Romanian tourists are recommended to ensure that, during the journey, they have sufficient resources of fuel, water and food and that they keep the mobile means of communication in working condition, and to the Romanian international freight transport companies or passengers to take appropriate measures in order to thoroughly organize travel itineraries by taking into account the possibility of registering increased waiting times when crossing the Bulgarian border, as well as by ensuring the necessary resources of water and food for the transported persons“, the statement also states.
Romanian citizens can request consular assistance at the telephone numbers of the Embassy of Romania in Sofia: +35929712858 and +35929733510, calls being forwarded to the Contact and Support Center for Romanian Citizens Abroad (CCSCRS) and answered by Call Center operators on a permanent basis .
Also, Romanian citizens facing a difficult, special, emergency situation have at their disposal the permanent telephone number of the diplomatic mission of Romania in the Republic of Bulgaria: +359879440758.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends consulting the web pages http://sofia.mae.ro, https://ec.europa.eu/consularprotection/content/travel-advice_ro, www.meteoalarm.org, www.mae.ro and reminds that Romanian citizens traveling abroad have at their disposal the application “Călătorăște en seță” (http://mae.ro/app_cs), which provides information and travel tips.
