| Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport Budapest Liszt Ferenc Nemzetközi Repülőtér |
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|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: BUD – ICAO: LHBP | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Budapest Ferihegy International Airport Operating Plc. | ||
| Serves | Budapest | ||
| Hub for | |||
| Elevation AMSL | 151 m / 495 ft | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Website | |||
| Map | |||
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BUD
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| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 13L/31R | 3,707 | 12,162 | Concrete/Asphalt |
| 13R/31L | 3,010 | 9,875 | Concrete/Asphalt |
| Statistics (2010) | |||
| Passengers | 8,190,089 | ||
| Aircraft movements | 117,876 | ||
| Cargo volume (2007) | 68,144 tons | ||
| growth | −1.79% (year on year) | ||
| Source: www.bud.hu and Belgian AIP at EUROCONTROL | |||
Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport (IATA: BUD, ICAO: LHBP), formerly known as Budapest Ferihegy International Airport, is the international airport serving the Hungarian capital city of Budapest, and the largest of the country's five international airports. The airport offers international connections primarily within Europe, but also to Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and North America. In 2007, the airport served 8.6 million passengers.
Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport is located 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) east-southeast of the centre of Budapest, accessible by the Üllői road. The airport was renamed in honor of Ferenc Liszt, the virtuoso pianist and composer, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his birth.
The airport can accept the Boeing 747, Antonov An-124 and Antonov An-225 but most of the traffic comprises Airbus and Boeing twinjets and some long-haul Boeing 767s. Weather seldom diverts aircraft, when this does happen planes usually land at Bratislava or Vienna.
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The airport was called Budapest Ferihegy International Airport (Budapest Ferihegy Nemzetközi Repülőtér) until 25 March 2011 when it was officially renamed to Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport, for the honor of Liszt Ferenc Hungarian pianist and music composer. The change caused some controversy because the Committee of Geographical Names, which is the sole competent body in (re)naming geographical objects, suggested another version (Liszt Ferenc Nemzetközi Repülőtér, Budapest–Ferihegy) in order to keep the historical name. In retaliation, the chairman and several members of the committee were removed, two of them were fired of their workplace.[1] Colloquially the airport is still called Ferihegy as before.
Ferihegy is the name of the neighbourhood around the airport. The name is derived from that of Ferenc Xavér Mayerffy (1776–1845), the former owner of an estate who established vineyards and contributed to the development of viticulture in Pest-Buda. "Feri" is a diminutive form of Ferenc while "hegy" means hill. In fact the area is almost totally plain but originally there was a 147 m high sandy hillock which was levelled in the 1940s during the constructions works of the airport.
In 1938 the idea of building a new airport in Budapest was born. The area in the boundary of three settlements, Pestszentlőrinc-Rákoshegy-Vecsés, was assigned as the area of the new airport. The airport was intended as jointly for civil-military-sporting purposes. Civil facilities were to be built up in the north-western and military ones in the south-western section. Just as for each building, a public tender was invited for the designing and construction of the traffic building.
In December 1939, upon announcement of the results of the tender invited in September that year, the designs of Károly Dávid Jr. (1903–1973) were chosen. The designer, who was one of the originators of modern Hungarian architectural art, dreamt of a building which resembled an aircraft from the top-side view. The work commenced in 1942. To approach the airport from the city, a 16-kilometre (10 mi) high-speed road was constructed between 1940 and 1943, which, after improvements, remains in use today.
The military buildings were constructed parallel to the civil construction from 1940 but, due to the war situation, faster. Aviation started at the airport in 1943. In wartime, the civil construction slowed down and then stopped at the beginning of 1944. Towards the end of World War II, many of the airport buildings were damaged. By the end 1944, Budapest and its airport were under Soviet occupation.
In 1947 it was decided that the airport would be reconstructed for civil aviation. Under the three-year plan 40 million forints were voted for those works. The opening ceremony was held in May 1950 and the sections finished allowed Magyar-Szovjet Polgári Légiforgalmi Rt. (Hungarian-Soviet Civil Aviation Co. Ltd. – MASZOVLET), established in 1946, to operate here. At that time the airlines operated only a few foreign flights, in particular those to Prague, Bucharest, Warsaw and Sofia.
Magyar Légiforgalmi Vállalat (Hungarian Airlines – Malév) was established on 25 November 1954. The first regular flight taking off from the airport to the West was the Malév’s flight into Vienna in summer 1956. The first Western airline which launched a flight to Budapest was KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in 1957. The traffic building was finished in this period and the lengthening works of the 2,500-metre (8,202 ft) runway were started. At the end of 1958 the runway was lengthened to 3,010 metres (9,875 ft) and taxiway D was finished.
Between its opening and 1960, the number of landings at the Airport increased from 4,786 to 17,133, with passenger traffic increasing from 49,955 to 359,338 by 1960.
In 1965, a study was made on the development of the airport, which was implemented with more than a 10-year delay from the end of the 1970s. Aviation, airport, and flight control all called for more capacity and infrastructure. The Aviation and Airport Directorate (LRI) was established on 1 January 1973 and performed as an airline company, a trade company, and an authority, as well as investment, operator, and air navigation tasks.
In 1974, passenger traffic reached one million. In 1977, a new control tower was built, as well as a second runway parallel to the old one and a technical base for maintaining MALÉV aircraft. Use of the new 3,707-metre (12,162 ft) runway was started in September 1983.
In 1980, the number of landing aircraft and passengers served reached 32,642 and 1,780,000, respectively. The growing number of passengers called for more capacity. A new terminal was decided upon. The foundation-stone of the new passenger traffic building to be built was laid down on 16 November 1983. Since 1 November 1985, passengers have been received in Terminal 2, a 24,000-square-meter facility funded with Austrian loans under general contracting. It was used first by Malév aircraft and passengers, and then by those of Lufthansa, Air France, and Swissair. The old terminal continued to receive residual airline traffic under a new name, Terminal 1.
In 1990, more than 40,000 take-offs and landings were registered and 2.5 million passengers were served.
In 1993, Malév launched the airport’s first Hungarian overseas flight, to New York. According to the traffic figures forecast for the millennium, the two terminals serving 4 million passengers a year promised to be insufficient. The construction of Terminal 2B was started in 1997. The new building, with more than 30,000 square meters of space, together with a new apron, was opened in 1998, with all foreign airlines moving there. Terminal 2B can receive 3.5 million passengers a year, with its seven gates and five remote stands.
The airport has ILS CAT IIIa status.
In January 2002, in lieu of the liquidated Aviation and Airport Directorate, two new organisations were established. HungaroControl became responsible for air navigation and Budapest Airport Zrt. for operation of the airport. Between 1998 and 2005, passenger figures at Budapest Airport doubled – from 3.9 million to 7.9 million and major investments were called for.
This time, the Hungarian State, sole owner of the airport, opted for a partial privatisation with the integration of a private strategic partner with international experience. In June 2005, the State’s privatisation agency initiated a tender for a concession. Seventy five percent minus one vote of Budapest Airport Zrt.’s shares were to be given to new private owners. The tender was finalised by the end of the year and the British company BAA, owner and operator of the major British airports, took over the management of the airport company.
On 8 December 2005, a 75% stake in Ferihegy Airport was bought by BAA plc for 464.5 billion HUF (approx. 2.1 billion USD), including the right of operation for 75 years.[1] On 20 October 2006, BAA announced intentions to sell its stake in Budapest Airport to a consortium led by the German airports group, HOCHTIEF AirPort GmbH, subject to the consent of the Hungarian State.
On 18 April 2007, the renovation of Terminal 1 at Ferihegy was awarded Europe’s most prestigious heritage preservation prize, the Europa Nostra award. The designers, contractors, builders and investors (the latter being BA) received the joint award of the European Commission and of the pan-European heritage preservation organisation Europa Nostra for the renovation of the protected monument spaces, the central hall, the gallery and the furniture at T1.
One and half years later, in June 2007, there was a change in the management when the new owner of BAA decided to dispose of its shares and sell them to the German company HOCHTIEF AirPort and three financial partners.
On 6 June 2007, BAA and a consortium led by HOCHTIEF AirPort (HTA) formally closed and completed the transaction of the sale of BAA’s shares in Budapest Airport (BA) to the HOCHTIEF AirPort Consortium.
On 16 March 2011, the name of Budapest Ferihegy International Airport was changed to Budapest Franz Liszt International Airport.[2]
Sky Court, the new expansion project including shops, restaurants and lounges, also connecting Terminals 2A-B was opened on 27 March 2011. In April, the refurbishing of the old terminal parts in T2 are expected to begin.
An expenditure of 261 million euros is planned for expanding and modernising the airport’s infrastructure. Among the projects are:
Ferihegy airport has three main terminals: 1, 2A and 2B, and a smaller one for general aviation flights. A new air cargo base is to be built. Transfer between terminals 2A and 2B can be made on foot. The older Terminal 1, however, is located further away (i.e. closer to the city of Budapest) and must be reached by bus. From the city center, Terminal 1 can be reached by MÁV train directly and Terminal 2 is served by BKV bus.
On 30 March 2008, all Hungarian airports joined the Schengen Agreement and all Schengen flights moved to Terminal 2A, while non-Schengen flights moved to 2B. Terminal 1's low cost carriers were also separated by a glass wall into Schengen and non-Schengen traffic. On 26 July 2010 Ferihegy Airport temporarily lost its EU Schengen Zone clear status and passengers flying out from Budapest may be subjected to repeat security screening when transiting to other flights.
An open-air viewing platform for relatives and spotters is located at Terminal 2, currently closed for the duration of "Sky Court" expansion works. A large balcony with free entrance is available at Terminal 1 and offers good view of low-cost carrier fights boarding, as well as most aircraft taking off, when the wind prevails from the west.
From 1 September 2005, re-opened Terminal 1 serves all low-cost carriers. This terminal is divided by a glass wall into Schengen and Non-Schengen destinations.
The terminal was totally renovated in full compliance with the requirements of monument protection, since the building is one of the finest examples of architectural modernism in Hungary as well as in Europe. The Terminal 1 building is unusual in that it resembles the shape of an aircraft, when viewed from above.
Terminal 1 is unusual among low-cost airline destinations, being located within the premises of Budapest proper and offering better public transportation connections compared the 7 kilometers more distant Terminal 2. (Terminal 1 offers 15 minute direct train journey to Budapest city centre, while Terminal 2 requires busing or taxi cab / car journey to reach major Hungarian surface transportation hubs).
Terminal 2A (originally Terminal 2, then renamed in 1998) was inaugurated on 1 November 1985, served mainly the flights of Malév Hungarian Airlines, but from 30 March 2008, its transit halls serves all Schengen destinations, check in hall serves all SKY TEAM and STAR ALLIANCE airlines.
Although connected to Terminal 2A, it is referred to as a separate terminal (opened in December 1998). Its transit hall serves all non-Schengen destinations, and its check in hall serves Malév and One World flights among with some other airlines.
The newest, state of the art terminal between the 2A and 2B terminals. Passenger safety checks were moved here along with new baggage classifiers and the new Malév and SkyTeam (opening soon) business lounges. New shops, restaurants and cafés were placed in the new building. With the opening of Skycourt the airport has become capable of receiving 15 million passengers a year.
Note: The terminal assignments at Terminal 2 are only for check-in purposes. Arrivals and departures for Terminal 2, are in Terminal 2A for Schengen destinations, and Terminal 2B for Non-Schengen desinations
| Airlines | Destinations | Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus | Dublin | 2B |
| Aeroflot | Moscow-Sheremetyevo | 2A |
| Aerosvit Airlines | Kiev-Boryspil | 2B |
| airBaltic | Seasonal: Riga | 2B |
| Air France | Paris-Charles de Gaulle | 2A |
| Air Malta | Malta | 2B |
| Alitalia | Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino | 2A |
| American Airlines | New York-JFK [resumes 3 April 2012] | 2B |
| Austrian Airlines operated by Tyrolean Airways | Vienna | 2A |
| British Airways | London-Heathrow | 2B |
| Brussels Airlines | Brussels | 2A |
| Carpatair | Chişinău, Venice-Marco Polo | 2B |
| Czech Airlines | Prague | 2A |
| EasyJet | Berlin-Brandenburg [begins 3 June 2012], Berlin-Schönefeld [ends 2 June 2012], Dortmund, Geneva, London-Gatwick, London-Luton, Paris-Orly [ends 24 March 2012], Paris-Charles de Gaulle [begins 25 March 2012] | 1 |
| EasyJet Switzerland | Geneva | 1 |
| EgyptAir operated by EgyptAir Express | Cairo | 2A |
| El Al | Tel Aviv | 2B |
| Finnair | Helsinki | 2B |
| Germania | Magdeburg [begins 4 February 2012] | 2B |
| Germanwings | Cologne/Bonn, Stuttgart | 1 |
| Hainan Airlines | Beijing-Capital | 2B |
| Jet2.com | Edinburgh, Leeds/Bradford [begins 29 March 2012], Manchester | 1 |
| KLM | Amsterdam | 2A |
| LOT Polish Airlines | Warsaw | 2A |
| Lufthansa | Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich | 2A |
| Lufthansa Regional operated by Augsburg Airways | Munich | 2A |
| Lufthansa Regional operated by Eurowings | Düsseldorf | 2A |
| Lufthansa Regional operated by Lufthansa CityLine | Munich | 2A |
| Malév Hungarian Airlines | Amman, Amsterdam, Athens, Beirut, Belgrade, Berlin-Brandenburg [begins 3 June 2012], Berlin-Tegel [ends 2 June 2012], Brussels, Bucharest-Henri Coandă, Cluj-Napoca, Copenhagen, Damascus, Dublin, Frankfurt, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Hamburg, Helsinki, Istanbul-Atatürk, Kiev-Boryspil, Larnaca, London-Gatwick, Madrid, Milan-Malpensa, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Odessa, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Podgorica, Prague, Pristina, Rome-Fiumicino, Saint Petersburg, Sarajevo, Skopje, Sofia, Stockholm-Arlanda, Stuttgart, Thessaloniki, Tirgu Mureş, Tel Aviv, Tirana, Tripoli [resumes 25 March 2012], Varna, Warsaw, Zagreb, Zürich Seasonal: Antalya, Barcelona, Burgas, Corfu, Heraklion, Málaga, Palma Mallorca, Rhodes, Split, Zakynthos |
2B |
| Moldavian Airlines | Chişinău | 2B |
| Norwegian Air Shuttle | Copenhagen, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stockholm-Arlanda | 1 |
| Qatar Airways | Doha | 2B |
| Sky Work Airlines | Berne | 2B |
| Swiss International Air Lines operated by Helvetic Airways | Zürich | 2A |
| Swiss International Air Lines operated by Swiss European Air Lines | Basel/Mulhouse | 2A |
| TAP Portugal | Lisbon | 2A |
| TAROM | Bucharest-Henri Coandă | 2A |
| Turkish Airlines | Istanbul-Atatürk | 2A |
| Wizz Air | Barcelona, Bari, Brussels-South Charleroi, Dortmund [begins 13 January], Eindhoven, Forlì, Gothenburg-City, Hahn, London-Luton, Madrid, Malmö, Milan-Bergamo, Naples, Pisa, Rome-Fiumicino, Stockholm-Skavsta, Tirgu Mureş, Weeze [ends 9 January] Seasonal: Antalya [begins 16 June], Burgas [begins 12 June], Catania [begins 1 April], Corfu [begins 16 June], Palma de Mallorca [begins 14 June], Turku [begins 31 March] [2] |
1 |
| Airlines | Destinations | Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Central Charter Slovakia | Seasonal: Bratisalva, Karpathos, Zakynthos | 2A |
| Europe Airpost | Strasbourg | 2B |
| Freebird Airlines | Antalya, Istanbul Atatürk | 2B |
| Iberia | Barcelona, Madrid | 2A |
| Japan Airlines | Osaka, Tokyo | 2B |
| Malév Hungarian Airlines | Agadir, Antalya, Heraklion, Hurghada, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Palma de Mallorca, Rhodes, Santorini, Corfu, Sharm el-Sheikh | 2B |
| Tailwind Airlines | Bodrum, Antalya, Istanbul Sabiha-Gökcen | 2B |
| Tiriac Air | Bucharest-Henri Coanda, Oradea | 2B |
| Travel Service | Seasonal: Agadir, Antalya, Atyrau, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Burgas, Dalaman, Djerba, Heraklion, Hurghada, Ibiza, Kos, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Marseille, Mombasa, Monastir, Nantes, Palma de Mallorca, Phuket, Praia, Rhodes, Sal, Sharm el-Sheikh, Taba, Tel Aviv, Tenerife-South, Victoria Falls, Zakynthos, Zanzibar | 2B |
| Tunisair | Seasonal: Enfidha, Monastir | 2B |
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| ABC Air Hungary | Arad, Cluj-Napoca, Timişoara |
| Cargolux | Almaty, Amsterdam, Baku, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan |
| DHL Aviation operated by European Air Transport | Athens, Bergamo, Brussels, Bucharest-Henri Coandă, Cologne/Bonn |
| Farnair Hungary | Basel/Mulhouse, Cologne/Bonn |
| FedEx Feeder operated by Air Contractors | Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Vienna |
| Icelandair Cargo | Liège, Nuremberg |
| Solinair | Vienna |
| Swiftair | Nuremberg |
| TNT Airways | Amsterdam, Liège, Munich, Nuremberg, Vienna |
| Turkish Airlines Cargo | Istanbul-Atatürk |
| UPS Airlines | Cologne/Bonn, Vienna |
| World Airways | Bagram Air Base, Charleston Air Force Base, Dover Air Force Base, Leipzig/Halle, Ostend |
There was an IED bus attack against Russian Jewish emigrants on the road leading to Ferihegy in the early 1990s. The perpetrators were members of the German Communist organisation Red Army Faction.[3] There have been no terrorist incidents since then.
On 26 July 2010, after completing a novel security oversight investigation, inspired by the Delta Air Lines' Amsterdam "panty bomb scare" incident, the EU authorities revoked Budapest Ferihegy Airport's official "Schengen Clear" certification, due to serious lapses observed in personal security check procedures and unauthorised passing of banned objects. (Hungarian state news agency MTI reports: [1])
This "unclear" restriction under the so-called "April Directives on Enhanced Personal Air Safety Screening within the EU", means air travelers flying from Budapest to other airports in the Schengen Zone, may be subjected to another round of security screening after landing. This causes delays before they are allowed to transit to further flights and aircraft arriving from BUD Ferihegy may need to be re-inspected from a security viewpoint, before they are allowed to board again and fly to further destinations.
Because of such consequences, flight delays have already set in on both Ferihegy-1 and −2 terminals and unusually long passenger waiting queues were observed at the more busy Ferihegy-2A/2B terminal complex. Budapest Airport management urges all passengers to arrive at least two hours in advance of the advertised last boarding time for their flight and preferably 3 hours in the busiest periods to guarantee enough time for completing check-in security.
Budapest Airport management blamed loss of certification on the novelty of such undercover testing procedures, Ferihegy being the first major European airport to undergo the stringent evaluation, which is very difficult to meet due to BUD Airport's layout, with great distances between Terminal-1 and Terminal-2. Nonetheless, six lower-ranking BUD Airport employees were fired and several others demoted because of the fiasco.
The airport management plans to submit to a new round of EU certification checks as soon as possible. The re-certification checks take approximately 6–12 weeks and are hoped to complete succssfully by 15 October, when start of the heating season requires that passenger waiting queues do not extend beyond the Ferihegy Terminal-2 entrance gates.
In response to the scandal, the Hungarian Ministry of Transportation quickly proposed to restore the full independence of Hungary's Aviation Authority, blaming the fiasco on the diminished oversight role and resources the aviation branch has possessed during the years of previous government, when the aviation regulation bureaucracy was integrated into the oversized Hungarian Transportation Safety Authority organization.
Hungarian State Railways runs suburban and long-distance services between Terminal 1 and Nyugati Railway Station in Budapest city centre through Kőbánya-Kispest. The trip takes approximately 25 minutes.
The 200E Bus departs Terminal 2 every 10 minutes, providing connectivity with the Metro Line 3 terminus at Kőbánya-Kispest via Terminal 1. Journey time from Terminal 2 to the city centre (Deák Ferenc tér) is 50 minutes using the 200E bus and Metro 3.
The Budapest Airport Minibusz operates an airport shuttle service that takes passengers to any destination in the city. Other shuttle services also offer transport into the city from the airport.
Malév operates shuttle services to Miskolc, Pécs, Szeged, Debrecen providing connectivity to Malev flights. Only passengers traveling with Malev can use these shuttles. Tickets can be bought through the airline's website.
Taxis are available from the taxi stand, however only one taxi company (Fotaxi) is authorised to use the airport cab stands.
Nearly all major rental companies operate at Ferihegy.
Facilities include ATMs (except within the international transit area, where the passenger must exchange currency), bureaux de change, left luggage, first aid, duty-free shops, child care, post office, a chapel, restaurants, tourist information and hotel reservations. There are facilities for disabled passengers and wheelchairs are available from the airport help desks. A short walk away from Terminal 2 there is an open-air aircraft museum. Short and long-term car parks are situated close to the terminal buildings.
The SkyCourt terminal several new shops, restaurants, a cafe. E.g.: new duty-free shop, Hugo Boss, Ralph Laurent, Burberry, Mont Blanc, Longchamp, Costa Coffee, KFC, Burger King, Gundel, Hippopotamus and Leroy Restaurant, HUB, Upper crust.
The new terminal was replaced by Malév and Lufthansa new lounges.
The airport has GSM phone coverage. Wi-Fi is provided by Telenor and 230 V power outlets are available at some places.
Malév has the most flights at the airport. The largest foreign airline (in terms of passengers carried from and to Budapest) is Lufthansa, which serves Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Milan-Malpensa, and Munich nonstop.
The airline Wizz Air has its head office in Building 221.[4] Wizz Air signed the lease agreement in October 2010 and moved there in June 2011 with 150 employees. The airline occupies over 2,000 square metres (22,000 sq ft) of space in an office building refurbished after the airline's arrival. The facility, with open plan offices, houses about 150 employees.[5]
Malév Hungarian Airlines has signed a lease agreement in the spring of 2011 with the airport, agreeing to relocate its headquarters to the airport grounds by the end of 2012. The airline will be based in renovated 10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft) of space in three office buildings between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, where 600 employees will be accommodated.[5]