Bulgaria's civil aviation met the EU standards and was 'completely secure and reliable', Bulgarian Airlines Association chairman Svetoslav Stanoulov told Darik Radio.

The Bulgarian aviation companies were 'worried and surprised' by the criticism on the safety of Bulgaria's aviation branch in the European Commission (EC) monitoring report, he said.

One of the criticised areas was the usage of Russian AN-12 airplanes, but this problem would be resolved by March 2007, Stanoulov said.

Civil Aviation Administration director general Georgi Stoyanov said that all lapses referring to aviation safety would be resolved by the end of 2006.

Bulgaria's civil airplanes fit in EU standards, he said. Only the cargo and agricultural aviation had standardisation problems.