Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport^[3] (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 2011, the airport handled 8.9 million passengers.

Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport is located 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) east-southeast of the centre of Budapest, accessible by the Ülli 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.

It was the hub for Malév Hungarian Airlines until the bankcrupcy on 3 February 2012.

Name

Originally called Budapest Ferihegy International Airport (Budapest Ferihegy Nemzetközi Repültér), on 25 March 2011 it was officially renamed Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport, in honour of Franz Liszt (Modern Hungarian: Liszt Ferenc, a 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 Repültér, BudapestFerihegy) 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^[4]. Popularly, 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 (17761845), 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.

History

Designing and construction (19391944)

In 1938 the idea of building a new airport in Budapest was born. The area in the boundary of three settlements, Pestszentlrinc-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. (19031973) 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.

Reconstruction (19471950)

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 Malévs 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.

Continued growth (19601980)

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.

New infrastructure (19802000)

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 airports 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.

Public to public-private ownership (2000 )

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 States 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 Europes 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 BAAs 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 Ferenc Liszt International Airport.[2]

Sky Court, the new expansion project including shops, restaurants and lounges, also connecting Terminals 2A and 2B was opened on 27 March 2011. In summer that year, the refurbishing of the old terminal parts in T2 began.

Future programme

An expenditure of 261 million euros is planned for expanding and modernising the airports infrastructure until 2012. Among the projects are:

• Terminal expansion, including the construction of the SkyCourt (done, as of 27 March 2011)
• New multy-storey car park
• New piers to Terminal 2A as well as 2B
• Apron development (done, as of 27 March 2011)
• New air cargo city (first phase planned opening in the 2nd half of 2012)
• Airport City
• Business park
• A 4-star hotel with conference facilities (planned opening in 2014)

Several of these future projects involve about further 300 million euros, and depends on regulatory decisions as well as third-party investors (see video:^[5] ).

Terminals

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.

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.

Terminal 1

From 1 September 2005, re-opened Terminal 1 serves all low-cost carriers. This terminal is divided into Schengen and Non-Schengen boarding gates.^[6]

The terminal was totally renovated in full compliance with the requirements of historical monument protection, since the building is one of the finest examples of architectural modernism, built from 1939 (and interrupted by the war, then finished in 1950). The Terminal 1 is unusual in that it resembles the shape of an aircraft, when viewed from above, and is unique in stile across Europe. For this reasons, the reconstruction received the Medal of the Europa Nostra Award as well. ^[7][8]

Terminal 1 is unusual among low-cost airline destinations, being located within the premises of Budapest and offering faster public transport time to the city center, compared to the Terminal 2 about 7 kilometers farther. (Terminal 1 offers an about 30 minutes direct train journey to Budapest city centre, while Terminal 2 requires busing or taxi cab or car journey to the train or metro station).^[9]

The building houses the head office of the Transportation Safety Bureau of Hungary.^[10]

Sky Court between Terminal 2A and 2B

The newest, state-of-the-art building between the 2A and 2B terminals with 5 levels. Passenger safety checks were moved here along with new baggage classifiers and the new Malév and SkyTeam (opening soon) business lounges, as well as the first MasterCard lounge in Europe.^[11]

New shops, restaurants and cafés were placed in the new building's transit hall, for example a Duty Free Shop, Hungarian wine and food shop, Herend porcelain shop, Frey Wille, Caprice, Costa Café, Burger King, KFC, Hippopotamus restaurant and a Gundel Bistro, affiliate of the famous Hungarian haute-cuisine restaurant in the city center. With the opening of Skycourt the Terminal 2 has become capable of receiving about 11 million passengers a year, instead of the former joint capacity of about 7 million.

Terminal 2A

The Schengen terminal, it was originally the "only" Terminal 2. It was inaugurated on 1 November 1985 for the exclusive use of the homeland carrier Malév Hungarian Airlines, and later renamed in 1998 to Terminal 2A.

Its check in hall serves all Skyteam and Star Alliance member airlines as well as some other carriers. Within its boarding area (Gates A1-A19) and arrivals level, it serves all flights to the Schengen-zone destinations of any airline.

After the security check, passengers are arriving to the hall of SkyCourt. To proceed to Gates "A" there's no further control.

Terminal 2B

The non-Schengen terminal, it is referred to as a separate object, and opened in December 1998.

Its check-in hall serves all flights of the OneWorld-alliance (intra- and extra-Schengen as well), among with some other airlines. But its boarding area (Gates B1-B19) and arrivals level are serving the non-Schengen destinations of any airline.

After the security check, passengers can spend their time in SkyCourt's hall, and then proceed to the boarding area (Gates B1-B19) trough the passport control. Within the boarding area there are further shops and a money exchange box as well.

Airlines and destinations

Note: The following terminal assignments at Terminal 2 are only for check-in purposes. Arrivals are in Terminal 2A for Schengen destinations, and Terminal 2B for Non-Schengen destinations, for all airlines.

Charter

Cargo

Safety and security

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.^[14] There have been no terrorist incidents since then.

On 26 July 2010, after completing a security oversight investigation in May,^[15] the EU authorities revoked Budapest 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])

On 15 November 2010, Budapest Airport regained the "Schengen Clear"-status, after implementing the necessary security actions and after that the airport underwent the strict re-inspection. ^[16]

Story of the clear status

This new security measures were introduced on 29 April 2010, and inspired by the Delta Air Lines' Amsterdam "panty bomb scare" incident.

Budapest Airport was the first major European airport that underwent such an inspection. The "unclear" status caused that Budapest was handled as a non-Schengen-zone airport, although been in the Schengen-zone. On arrival from Budapest to a Schengen-zone airport (i.e. to Frankfurt) for connecting flights, this caused repeated security checks at transfer departures (i.e. in Frankfurt).^[15]

Because of such consequences, the immediately implemented additional security measures at Budapest Airport caused flight delays on both Terminals 1 and 2 and unusually long passenger waiting queues were observed at the more busy 2A-B terminal complex's departures area.

Later, as the security procedures grew up, and especially after the opening of SkyCourt terminal with the central security zone within, unusually long queuing doesn't exist at Budapest Airport.

Budapest Airport management blamed loss of certification on the novelty of such undercover testing procedures, being the first major European airport to undergo the stringent evaluation implemented just 3 months ago, which is very difficult to meet due to BUD Airport's layout, with great distances between Terminal-1 and Terminal-2.

Ground transportation

Rail

Hungarian State Railways runs suburban and long-distance services between Terminal 1 and Nyugati Railway Station in Budapest city centre through Kbánya-Kispest. The trip takes approximately 25 minutes.

Public transport

The 200E Bus departs Terminal 2 every 10 minutes, providing connectivity with the Metro Line 3 terminus at Kbánya-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.

Mini buses and shuttles

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.

Taxis

Taxis are available from the taxi stand, however only one taxi company (Ftaxi) is authorised to use the airport cab stands.

Car Rental

Nearly all major rental companies operate at Ferihegy.

Amenities and services

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 houses several new shops, restaurants, a cafe, for example Heinemann duty-free shop, Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, Burberry, Mont Blanc, Longchamp, Costa Coffee, KFC, Burger King, Gundel, Hippopotamus, Leroy Restaurant, Negroni, Yum Cha and Upper Crust.^[17] Ther are new airline lounges as well in SkyCourt.

The airport has GSM phone coverage. Wi-Fi is provided by Telenor and 230 V power outlets are available at some places.

The largest airline (in terms of passengers carried from and to Budapest) is Lufthansa, which serves Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich.

Other facilities

The airline Wizz Air has its head office in Building 221.^[18] 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.^[19]

Malév Hungarian Airlines has signed a lease agreement in the northern hemisphere spring of 2011 with the airport, agreeing to relocate its headquarters to the airport grounds by the northern hemisphere summer of 2012.^[19][20] However, this was before Malév had collapsed, and the current stage of this relocation are unknown.

References

External links

• Official website In English
• BAA closing in on Hungarian deal (BBC)