Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport , formerly known as Budapest Ferihegy International Airport, is the international airport serving the Hungarian

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 capital city of Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

, and the largest of the country's five international airports. The airport offers international connections primarily within Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, but also to Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

, and North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. 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

Ülloi út

Üllői út is a major transport artery in Budapest, Hungary. Üllői út is the longest avenue in Budapest, it's 15.6 km long and absolutely straight....

. 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

Boeing 747

The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...

, Antonov An-124

Antonov An-124

The Antonov An-124 Ruslan is a strategic airlift jet aircraft. It was designed by the Ukrainian SSR's Antonov design bureau, then part of the Soviet Union. It is the world's largest ever serially-manufactured cargo airplane and world's second largest operating cargo aircraft...

 and Antonov An-225

Antonov An-225

The Antonov An-225 Mriya is a strategic airlift cargo aircraft, designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the 1980s. It is the world's heaviest aircraft. The design, built in order to transport the Buran orbiter, was an enlargement of the successful An-124 Ruslan...

 but most of the traffic comprises Airbus

Airbus

Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....

 and Boeing

Boeing

The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

 twinjets and some long-haul Boeing 767

Boeing 767

The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...

s. Weather seldom diverts aircraft, when this does happen planes usually land at Bratislava

Bratislava

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...

 or Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

.

Name

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. 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

Viticulture

Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...

 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.

Designing and construction (1939–1944)

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 kilometres (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 (1947–1950)

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 2500 metres (8,202 ft) runway were started. At the end of 1958 the runway was lengthened to 3010 metres (9,875 ft) and taxiway D was finished.

Continued growth (1960–1980)

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 3707 metres (12,162 ft) runway was started in September 1983.

New infrastructure (1980–2000)

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

Instrument Landing System

An instrument landing system is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument...

 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 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.

Future programme

An expenditure of 261 million euros is planned for expanding and modernising the airport’s infrastructure. Among the projects are:

• Terminal expansion, including the construction of the 'BUD Skycourt' between terminals 2A and 2B (done, as of 27 March 2011)
• 'Airport City' project, including a business park and a hotel with conference facilities
• New car park
• New piers
• Apron development (done, as of 27 March 2011)
• New air cargo city

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

MAV

The acronym/initialism MAV may have several meanings, including:*Mathematical Association of Victoria of Victoria, Australia*Municipal Association of Victoria of Victoria, Australia*Micro air vehicle, a type of remotely controlled unmanned aerial vehicle...

 train directly and Terminal 2 is served by BKV

BKV

BKV is the unified public transport company of Budapest, established in 1968...

 bus.

On 30 March 2008, all Hungarian airports joined the Schengen Agreement

Schengen Agreement

The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later...

 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.

Terminal 1
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
Terminal 2A (originally Terminal 2, then renamed in 1998) was inaugurated on 1 November 1985, served mainly the flights of Malév Hungarian Airlines

Malév Hungarian Airlines

Malév Hungarian Airlines is the flag carrier and principal airline of Hungary. It has its head office in the Lurdy House in Budapest, with its main operations at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport. From there, the airline flies to 50 cities in 34 countries worldwide using a fleet of 22...

, but from 30 March 2008, its transit halls serves all Schengen destinations, check in hall serves all SKY TEAM and STAR ALLIANCE airlines.

Terminal 2B
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.

Terminal Sky Court
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.

Airlines and destinations

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

Charter

Cargo

Safety and security

There was an IED

Improvised explosive device

An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...

 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

Red Army Faction

The radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...

. 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: http://hirek.mti.hu/english/article/491952/)

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.

Rail

Hungarian State Railways

Hungarian State Railways

Hungarian State Railways is the Hungarian national railway company, with divisions "MÁV Start Zrt" and "MÁV Cargo Zrt" ....

 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.

Public transport

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.

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.

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

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

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 shop

Duty-free shop

Duty-free shops are retail outlets that are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country...

s, 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. Eg: 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

Global System for Mobile Communications

GSM , is a standard set developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to describe technologies for second generation digital cellular networks...

 phone coverage. Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...

 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

Lufthansa

Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating...

, which serves Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Milan-Malpensa, and Munich nonstop.

External links

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