Ryanair, at a press conference in Budapest announced its intention to launch a rescue plan for Budapest and Hungarian tourism following the grounding of Malev airline last evening.  Ryanair confirmed that it will base 4 brand new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft at Budapest Airport commencing in just two weeks’ time on Friday 17th February where it will open 31 new routes, offering lower fares than any other airline, and delivering up to 2m passengers p.a., replacing most of the traffic and routes lost by Budapest following last night’s grounding of Malev.

Ryanair, which currently employs over 700 Hungarian pilots and cabin crew, will be holding an open recruitment day in Budapest on Tuesday next (7th Feb), inviting job applications from Malev pilots, cabin crew and engineers to help Ryanair gear up for this 4 aircraft, 2m passenger p.a. base at Budapest Airport. The International Airport Council figures confirm that this 2m pax p.a. will support 2,000 jobs at Budapest Airport.

This largest ever investment in Hungarian aviation and tourism is subject to reaching final agreement with Budapest Airport today on costs, facilities and handling, and Ryanair’s Deputy CEO Michael Cawley has travelled to Budapest to finalise these negotiations with Budapest Airport and the Hungarian Government. Because Ryanair has grounded up to 80 aircraft this winter, it has the capacity to respond immediately to the Malev grounding by moving aircraft, pilots and crews to Budapest within two weeks, in order to minimise the disruption to Hungarian consumers/visitors and tourism as a result of the Malev closure.