Budapest Airport has recorded its best start to the year in a decade. The first seven weeks of 2014 were more than promising for the airport, which handled 850,450 passengers, a 7.1% increase, compared with the same period last year. While historically January and February are the weakest months for traffic volume, Budapest Airport has begun 2014 with growing passenger numbers, fully loaded aircraft and increasing performance figures. According to the statistics, growth this year is already looking extremely healthy.
The robust new-year growth continues the trend of increasing demand for airline seats that characterised the second half of 2013. The 7.1% is more than double the official forecast of a 3.2% increase, issued by Airports Council International Europe. The largest rise in passenger numbers was recorded in the eastern markets, with particularly strong growth in Turkey and Russia, both of which are connected to Budapest with several daily flights by Aeroflot, Turkish Airlines, UTair and Wizz Air.
“We are working intensively with our airline partners on the continuation of this positive trend during the year,” remarked Jost Lammers, CEO of Budapest Airport. “We see that there is strong demand for airline seats both to and from Budapest in all market segments. This is backed by the positive developments in the Hungarian economy, which is expected to outperform the European average, and increasing investments and business activity, expanding tourism.
“The airline sector always quickly reflects the growth in GDP, both in Hungary and other European countries, with increasing demand. We at Budapest Airport have a lot of new exciting destinations, new airlines and increased frequency on existing routes to offer our passengers.”
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