The Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority (BULATSA) is Bulgaria’s national Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP), responsible for the safe, orderly, and efficient provision of air traffic services within Bulgarian airspace. Operating in full alignment with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards and as part of the European ATM Network, BULATSA plays a critical role in ensuring the continuity and safety of national and regional air traffic operations.

To support this mission, BULATSA operates a complex ecosystem of mission-critical systems, including air traffic management platforms, communications, navigation and surveillance (CNS) infrastructure, aeronautical information services, and supporting operational IT environments. The availability of these systems is fundamental not only to aviation safety, but also to public trust, regulatory compliance, and international coordination.

Facing growing operational, regulatory, and resilience demands placed on air navigation services, BULATSA made a strategic decision to invest in a purpose-built contingency facility, the Contingency and Data Center Bozhurishte (CDC BOZ).

Unlike conventional data centers or disaster recovery sites, CDC BOZ was conceived as a true contingency facility, designed to assume full operational responsibility for critical air traffic services in the event of a major disruption at primary operational sites. This distinction was essential to meeting European and ICAO contingency requirements and to reducing systemic risk associated with single-site dependency.

CDC BOZ was developed as a central pillar of BULATSA’s broader business continuity and national resilience strategy, directly supporting the uninterrupted provision of air traffic services under a wide range of adverse conditions.

As a public-sector aviation authority, BULATSA operates under heightened expectations for transparency, accountability, and operational reliability. Any disruption to air traffic services carries significant safety, economic, and reputational consequences, making resilience a requirement.

Many key challenges were considered at the onset of this project, primarily BULATSA sought to reduce systemic risks related to single-site dependency, infrastructure failure, and external disruptions while strengthening the resilience of critical ATM services. Beholden to high standards and the safety-critical nature of air traffic services, BULATSA required more than internal assurance. It needed objective, globally recognized validation that the new facility would perform as intended under real-world conditions.

BULATSA pursued Tier III Certification of Constructed Facility (TCCF) to independently validate that CDC BOZ delivers the availability, maintainability, and fault isolation required for safety-critical air traffic operations.

Tier requirements were embedded early in the project lifecycle, directly shaping infrastructure design, system architecture, construction methodologies, and quality assurance processes. The facility was designed for concurrent maintainability, robust redundancy, effective fault isolation, and physical separation, ensuring maintenance or component failure would not interrupt operations.

Throughout the Certification process, BULATSA’s engineering, operational, and executive teams worked in close coordination with Uptime Institute, ensuring alignment between infrastructure design and real-world operational requirements. The Certification process itself was conducted in a professional, transparent, and methodical manner, with clear assessment criteria and constructive guidance provided throughout.

Achieving Tier III Certification of Constructed Facility confirmed that CDC BOZ was built exactly as intended and performs in accordance with its resilience and availability objectives. The assessment process also reinforced operational readiness by validating failure scenarios, clarifying assumptions, and strengthening response procedures, allowing BULATSA to further strengthen readiness and resilience before the facility entered full operational use.

CDC BOZ now serves as a resilient foundation for BULATSA’s long-term digital transformation and ATM modernization roadmap. The facility supports future system integration, modernization initiatives, and evolving operational requirements while maintaining the highest standards of availability.

In practical terms, Certification provides BULATSA with independently verified concurrent maintainability, strengthened contingency and disaster recovery capabilities, increased confidence among regulators, partners, and internal teams, and a clear, internationally recognized benchmark to guide future infrastructure projects.

For BULATSA, Tier Certification is not viewed as a one-time milestone, but as an integral part of an ongoing strategy to continuously strengthen operational resilience, accountability, and service continuity. The organization is actively considering additional Certifications as part of its long-term infrastructure development plans.

From a leadership standpoint, the Tier Certification journey reinforced a shared organizational understanding of resilience, responsibility, and operational excellence. The project stands as a clear demonstration of BULATSA’s commitment to aviation safety, regulatory compliance, and internationally recognized best practices.

BULATSA Contingency and Data Center Bozhurishte (CDC BOZ) – Bozhurishte, Bulgaria

• Tier III Certification of Constructed Facility
• Tier III Certification of Design Documents