Hitting another all-time high, Budapest Airport has welcomed its 11millionth passenger this year. Celebrating alongside the lucky passenger Hangonyi Nagy Hajnalka and her daughter are: Budapest Airport’s Sandor Saly, Senior Airline Development Manager; Balazs Bogats, Head of Airline Development; Kam Jandu, CCO; airberlin’s Sandor Sali, Sales Manager for Hungary and Mohammed Nasr, Area Manager Eastern Europe; and Mate Ritter, Airline Development Manager, Budapest Airport.
Setting a new record for annual passengers for a third year running, the Hungarian gateway has experienced an average 10% growth in passenger traffic, establishing Budapest as one of the fastest growing tourism markets in Europe at this time.
Following an impressive month of 15% growth in passenger traffic in November, Budapest Airport has welcomed its 11 millionth passenger this year, the first time this milestone has been reached in the airport’s 66-year history. Setting a new record for annual passengers for a third year running, the Hungarian gateway has experienced an average 10% growth in passenger traffic, establishing Budapest as one of the fastest growing tourism markets in Europe at this time. Heightened by the addition of 16 new destinations this year, along with 14 airlines significantly increasing frequency to essential hubs such as Amsterdam, London Heathrow and Doha, the airport has connected to more than 100 scheduled destinations throughout the year.
This achievement was celebrated with airberlin, with the oneworld alliance airline carrying Budapest’s 11 millionth passenger from Budapest to Berlin Tegel – a route which has also seen a frequency increase this year with the addition of a third daily flight.
“Last year we experienced remarkable passenger traffic growth and to watch the robust development continue into 2016 is a rewarding time for us all,” said Kam Jandu, CCO, Budapest Airport. He added: “We approached this year with a strategy to do all we could to ensure Budapest, and Hungary, remain an attractive and competitive market, and I believe we’ve not only succeeded in this goal but also ensured the demands of our passengers, as well as our business partners, have been met.”
Expanding to the demand
To ensure the Hungarian gateway is ready to meet further demand, the airport will invest approximately 180 million euros into its infrastructure over the next three years. The investment will see a number of developments including a new airport hotel, check-in area extension, a new Pier B, and a new Terminal C cargo facility. Expecting to welcome 11.3 million passengers overall by the end of December, Budapest will have delivered an impressive 22% growth from 2014 to this year-end, a record-breaking expansion in Central and Eastern Europe.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
