Budapest Airport: Largest Ever Noise Insulation Program

In September, Budapest Airport will launch its largest residential noise insulation program, featuring many services and a budget of around HUF 1.2 billion over three years.

The aim of the program, which has been running for more than ten years and will be expanded from fall 2022, is to reduce the noise burden for people living near Ferenc Liszt International Airport by the retrofit insulation or replacement of windows and doors. In addition to the 1,500 properties previously covered, Budapest Airport is now offering a large number of additional property owners the opportunity to participate in the program in several phases.

At a joint press conference, the CEO of Budapest Airport and the mayors of District XVII, XVIII, X, Vecsés and Üllő – as the heads of the districts and municipalities in the vicinity of the airport – announced the details of the noise protection program, available in an extended format from this fall.

Regarding the background of the program, it is important to highlight that the noise protection zone around Ferenc Liszt International Airport was designated in February 2016 by the aviation authority. The boundaries of this zone were established on the basis of Hungarian regulations – taking into account the expected air traffic development of the next ten years.

However, Budapest Airport started a residential window insulation program in residential properties around the airport on a voluntary basis much earlier than that, in 2008, mainly in some parts of District XVII and XVIII of the capital, and in certain areas of Üllő and Vecsés. Between 2008 and 2020, around 1,500 property owners were invited to participate in the residential window insulation program. After repeated calls, this opportunity was seized by a total of 30% of the residents concerned.

In 2019, the owners and management of Budapest Airport decided voluntarily to significantly expand the noise protection program, which has been running for several years, increasing both the areas to be covered and the resources allocated to this program, and expanded the services available. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the start of the program had to be postponed due to the personal contact that the work would have involved.

In order to ensure that the program and the newly included areas were tailored to the needs of the residents, Budapest Airport initiated a consultation with the mayors of the districts and municipalities concerned at the beginning of 2022. By June 2022, after several negotiations, the 1.2 billion HUF program was finalized and it will be implemented over the next three years.