Budapest Airport Donates Over HUF 35 Mn for Christmas

The operator of the Hungarian capital’s Ferenc Liszt International Airport, Budapest Airport, which is part of the VINCI Airports network, considers it a priority to help the disadvantaged, and has made awareness-raising and education, as well as the development of the surrounding areas, a central part of its responsibility strategy, the company says in its latest airport bulletin.

In line with its corporate social responsibility program, this year Budapest Airport has again selected organizations and institutions to be supported with a total of 36.5 million HUF on Christmas. In December, the company donated funds to the Bethesda Children’s Hospital, the Save Lives Foundation, which makes dreams come true for children who are seriously ill or recovering from life-threatening diseases, the National Ambulance Service and the Aviation Cultural Centre.

Commenting on the donation, Francois Berisot, the CEO of Budapest Airport, said, “Like any major economic player, Budapest Airport has a responsibility to the environment and the society in which it operates. In this respect, it is hard to find a more important cause than the well-being and healing of children. I am delighted that this year, we have had the opportunity to support such an important institution as the Bethesda Children’s Hospital, and I trust that the donation will help the specialists working there to continue to treat children at their usual high standard, in an even more modern environment and with even more modern equipment.”

The Bethesda Children’s Hospital will use the funds to purchase steam sterilization medical equipment essential for operation. The high-temperature steam sterilization function of this state-of-the-art device ensures the effective disinfection of medical equipment, thus minimizing the risk of infection. This will make the treatment of children at Bethesda even safer.

Cooperation between Budapest Airport and the Save Lives Charitable Foundation, which makes dreams come true for children who are seriously ill or recovering from life-threatening diseases, is not new; the airport operator has supported the work of the organization on several occasions. This year, it donated nearly 10 million HUF from the proceeds of the Runway Run airport running race, and at Christmas, it handed over to the “dream wizards” the 1.5 million HUF collected in its “take steps for a good cause” activity, organized for employees. Budapest Airport launched a campaign among its employees this fall.

The original goal was to collect 30 million steps, in return for which Budapest Airport offered a donation of one 1 million HUF to the foundation. However, the willingness of the employees to help exceeded the original target. More than 35 million steps were collected, so Budapest Airport increased the donation to 1.5 million HUF. The money was used by the Save Lives Charitable Foundation for its “Make the magic of Christmas come true” campaign, to help make Christmas brighter for families with sick children, whose circumstances do not allow to buy presents for their kids.

Ss in the past five years, Budapest Airport has supported the work of the National Ambulance Service. This year, the company donated 5 million HUF to the organization before Christmas, which usually uses the donation to refurbish ambulance stations in the area. The aid will be used to improve the working conditions of ambulance service staff and for technical developments, whereby the Pestszentlőrinc ambulance station can be renewed. Budapest Airport and the National Ambulance Service have been working closely together for five years now, as part of which the airport operator provided support to the ambulance service during the new coronavirus pandemic.