The unprecedented increase in passenger numbers over the past five years at Budapest Airport has continued into 2016, with 13% more passengers travelling through the Hungarian gateway in January compared to December 2015. Enhancing the airport’s route development, Ryanair has already added two services for next winter.
Having recently announced four new links to begin this summer, Ryanair has kick-started Budapest’s forthcoming winter season by adding daily services to Berlin Schönefeld from October 30 and Nuremberg from November 1, taking its total to 20 routes from the Hungarian gateway. Currently facing no direct competition on Nuremberg, the low-cost carrier will be connecting Budapest to Bavaria, home to one of Hungary’s largest expat communities with more than 60,000 Hungarians living in the region.
Kam Jandu, Chief Commercial Officer, Budapest Airport said: “It is great news that Ryanair will once again be enriching our route network from the winter, even before the summer season has started. We welcome this announcement and are especially pleased to announce that our growing number of indirect passengers from Bavaria will now see a direct link, therefore this service is sure to be a great success.”
State to sponsor direct flights to Balkans
The government will sponsor the launch of direct flights to five capital cities in the Balkans because operating them is not profitable on business terms, the official gazette Magyar Közlöny said on Monday.
The development minister has been instructed to publish a concession tender in the European Union’s official paper for regular services to Podgorica, Montenegro; Pristina, Kosovo; Skopje, Macedonia; Tirana, Albania; and Sofia, Bulgaria.
According to the government resolution, the flights will be important from the point of view of trade, foreign policy, tourism and cultural relations.
The development ministry noted that since national carrier Malév went broke in 2012, direct flights are still not operating to a number of destinations on its former timetable.
