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Budapest Ferihegy International Airport

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Budapest Ferihegy International Airport (Hungarian: Ferihegyi Nemzetközi Repülőtér or simply Ferihegy) 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 Asia, the Middle East, and North America. In 2005, the airport served just over 8 million passengers.

The airport is located east-southeast of the centre of Budapest, accessible by the major transport artery of Ulloi road.

Ferihegy is large enough to accept the Boeing 747, Antonov An-124 and Antonov An-225. Most of the traffic comprises Airbus and Boeing twinjets, flying to and from European cities, and some long-haul Boeing 767s. Weather seldom diverts aircraft, when this does happen planes usually land at Bratislava or Vienna.

On December 8, 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.

On 20 October, 2006, BAA plc 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 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

History

Ferihegy was opened on May 7, 1950, built originally for Maszovlet (Magyar-Szovjet Polgári Légiforgalmi Részvénytársaság), the predecessor of MALÉV Hungarian Airlines. A 2,500-metre (8,205 ft) runway (13R-31L), a large hangar, and a terminal were built.

In 1961, the runway was extended to 3,010 metres (9,875 ft).

In 1985 a new terminal was opened, and a second runway opened (rwy 13L-31R, 3,706 metres (12,162 ft)).

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 Düsselorf, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Munich nonstop.

BUD Future Program

Until 2011, Budapest Airport Zrt. will be investing more than 261 million euros in expanding and modernizing the airport’s infrastructure. With the planned investments, the company aims at meeting the demand of growth and enriching and improving customer service and comfort. The new Budapest Airport will promote further economic growth for the region and will create additional jobs – directly and indirectly. In realizing all these projects, the new owners of Budapest Airport Zrt. comply with the obligations laid down in the privatization contract.

Among the most important projects are:

BUD Skycourt: A new terminal building named BUD Skycourt will be connecting Terminal 2A and 2B in the future. Preparatory works have already commenced. The BUD Skycourt is designed to merge the flow of all passengers through the airside retail area and link all gates on the airside. It will thus help to create a more relaxed way for the passengers through the terminal. A broad choice of shops on the departure floor and bars and restaurants on the mezzanine level will create a new atmosphere for those waiting. BUD Skycourt will double the current existing commercial space of the airport and also improve security processes with a new, centralized area for security checks.

New Piers: Two new piers with 20 new airbridges will be erected at Terminal 2.

Apron development: More than 90,000 square meters of new apron area will be realized.

New car park: In front of Terminal 2, a new multi-storey car park will be erected.

New Air Cargo City: New air cargo facilities will be built next to Terminal 2. They are meant to serve the airport as well as Budapest’s cargo businesses.

Terminal 1: Terminal 1 – mainly serving the growing low-cost traffic – will be expanded in line with the demand. The existing building is intended to be used for departing traffic only in the future, while a new arrivals hall next to it will serve the incoming traffic and thus increase the terminal’s capacity.

In addition, the airport intends to build a new maintenance hangar as well as a modern engine test run stand.

Terminals and destinations

Ferihegy airport has 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 is convenient enough to be completed on foot. The older Terminal 1, however, is further away and must be reached by bus.

An open-air viewing platform for relatives and spotters is at Terminal 2. A fee of 200 forints (US$1) is charged for adults, and 100 Ft(US$0.5) for children.

Terminal 1

The newly opened Terminal 1 serves all low-cost airlines. The terminal was renovated in September 2005. The freight functions will be re-located to a newly built cargo base, whose construction has been delayed by a political scandal about public spending that led to contract cancellations.

  • easyJet (Berlin-Schönefeld, Dortmund, Geneva, London-Gatwick, London-Luton)
  • Germanwings (Cologne/Bonn, Stuttgart)
  • Jet2.com (Manchester)
  • Norwegian Air Shuttle (Oslo)
  • Ryanair (Bremen, Bristol, Dublin, East Midlands, Frankfurt-Hahn, Glasgow-Prestwick, Liverpool)
  • SkyEurope (Trieste) [Starts 8 June]
  • Sterling Airlines (Copenhagen, Stockholm-Arlanda)
  • Wizz Air (Bourgas [seasonal], Brussels-Charleroi, Cluj Napoca, Corfu [seasonal], Eindhoven, Girona, Gothenburg-City, Heraklion [seasonal], London-Luton, Malmo, Milan-Bergamo, Oslo-Torp [Begins 12 July], Palma de Mallorca, Paris-Beauvais, Rhodes [seasonal], Rome-Fiumicino, Stockholm-Skavsta, Venice-Treviso [Begins 13 July], Varna [seasonal])

Terminal 2A

Terminal 2A was built for MALÉV Hungarian Airlines, but it now also serves its code-share airline partners as well. This terminal replaced the original terminal in 1985.

  • Aer Lingus (Belfast-International, Dublin)
  • Brussels Airlines (Brussels)
  • Carpatair (Cluj-Napoca, Timişoara)
  • Czech Airlines (Prague)
  • Lufthansa (Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich)
  • Malév Hungarian Airlines (Amsterdam, Athens, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi [Ends 4 April 2008, Resumes 29 October], Beirut, Berlin-Tegel, Brussels, Bucharest-Otopeni, Burgas [seasonal], Cairo, Cancun, Copenhagen, Damascus, Dublin, Ekaterinburg, Frankfurt, Geneva, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Hamburg, Helsinki, Istanbul-Atatürk, Kiev-Boryspil, Larnaca, Ljubljana, London-Gatwick, Lyon, Madrid, Malaga [seasonal], Milan-Malpensa [Starts 30 March, 2008], Moscow-Domodedovo [Begins 30 March], Moscow-Sheremetyevo [Ends 29 March, 2008], Munich, New York-JFK [Resumes 2 May], Odessa, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Podgorica, Prague, Priština, Rome-Fiumicino, Sarajevo, Skopje, Sofia, Stockholm-Arlanda, Stuttgart, Târgu-Mureş, Tel Aviv, Thessaloniki, Timişoara, Tirana, Toronto-Pearson [Resumes 26 May], Varna, Venice, Warsaw, Zagreb, Zürich)
  • Moldavian Airlines (Chişinău)

Terminal 2B

Although connected to Terminal 2A, it is referred to as a separate terminal, opened in 1997. It serves all of the other international flights and airlines not served by Terminal 2A.

General Aviation Terminal

Private Planes

Cargo Airlines

Safety and Security

There was an IED bus attack against Russian Jewish emigrants on the road leading to Ferihegy in the early 1990s. There have been no terrorist incidents since then.

Ground Transportation

Light Rail

There is no light rail access to Ferihegy, but plans exist to either extend the metro system, or build a new municipal railway. According to the statement of the minister of economics, , this latter seems to be more probable, even by 2007, and the train would arrive at Budapest's Keleti Railway Station.

Rail

Rail connection is available between Terminal 1 and Budapest's Nyugati Railway Station. The Ferihegy Terminal 1 station is located in front of Terminal 1. All slow trains on the Budapest—Cegléd—Szolnok route stop at the station. Trains depart approximately every 30 minutes to Budapest's Nyugati station. Journey time is 20-25 minutes. Tickets can be purchased within Ferihegy's Terminal 1 from 9am to 10pm. Outside of these hours, tickets can be purchased on the train for no extra charge. The (July 17, 2007) fare is 300Ft (€1.22, $1.68, £0.83).

Buses, mini buses and shuttles

An airport mass transit articulated bus, no. 200, (provided by BKV company) leaves for the city centre every 10-20 minutes. They have been Volvo buses since April 14, 2006, equipped with special room for luggage, and they reach both Terminal 1 and 2. A ticket costs less than one euro. The BKV airport bus runs to the starting station of the M3 underground line (Kőbánya-Kispest – also a mainline railway station). Boarding the M3 trains at Ecseri út or Nagyvárad tér stations are alternatives.

The LRI airport authority operates an 11-passenger airport minibus service that takes passengers to any destination in the city. Tickets can be purchased at the Airport Minibus counter.

Hungarian owned Wizz Air operates shuttle buses between Budapest city centre and terminal 1.

There is also BudShuttle offer transfers between Budapest and Ferihegy Airport with an internet booking system.

For groups of more than 3 persons or persons with a lot of luggage, including stag and hen parties, you may book a transfer to the city with a luxury minibus or coach with www.budapesthungary.hu

Budapest Airport Transfer + provides a cheap and personal friendly airport transfer service between Budapest international airport and Budapest.

Taxis

Taxis are available from the taxi stand, however only one taxi company (Zóna Taxi) is authorized to use the airport cab stands. They operate under a zone-based fixed-rate system. A typical cab fare from Ferihegy to the centre of Budapest is 4000-4500 HUF.

Car Rental

Car rental is also available at the airport from major car rental company. Nearly all rental companies at Ferihegy also have offices in Budapest proper, thus passengers who are spending time in Budapest can rent in the city and avoid the additional fee charged for renting at the airport.

Amenities and Services

Facilities include ATMs (except within the international transit area, where the passenger must exhange 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 down the long drive from Terminal 2 there is an open-air aircraft museum. Short- and long-term car parks are situated close to the terminal buildings.

The airport has good GSM phone coverage. Free WLAN is provided by Pannon. 230V power outlets are available at some places. The socket type is CEE 7/7 or 7/4 (electrical outlet).

External links



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Last updated on Tuesday March 11, 2008 at 16:22:56 PDT (GMT -0700)
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