More Passengers, Returning Flights at Budapest Airport

As expected, the volume of passenger traffic Ferenc Liszt International Airport is still just a fraction of what it used to be before the pandemic restrictions but it is growing - as is the number of airlines returning to the Hungarian capital, according to the latest Airport Bulletin.

64,861 passengers in April
Budapest Airport handled 64 861 passengers in April, registering a 95.2% decrease from the same period in 2019, before the spread of the coronavirus. The pandemic produced the biggest drop in passenger traffic in April 2020, when there were less than 10,000 passengers. Compared to this, the number of arriving and departing passengers registered last month shows a more than 550% increase.

Thus, as expected, passenger traffic continues to follow the travel restrictions in force throughout Europe. However, the ever-increasing level of vaccination coverage provides reason for hope; with the relaxing or the abolishment of the restrictions, Budapest Airport expects significant traffic growth but moderate overall traffic when compared to recrord 2019 levels.

Returning flights
Numerous airlines announced the relaunch of flights in April, indicating an expected traffic increase, as the level of vaccination coverage increases.

The Belavia flight between Budapest and Minsk has restarted; it now operates between the two capitals twice a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays, with Embraer E175 aircraft. Also returning are the Ryanair routes to Paris, Malaga and Rome, with two weekly frequencies each between these popular cities and Budapest. Pegasus has announced the relaunch of its Budapest-Istanbul flight, also twice a week.

The vaccination data registered in Hungary and elsewhere provide reason for hope; accordingly, Budapest Airport expects further flights to be relaunched and passenger traffic to increase already in the near future. Passenger traffic is impacted by artificial limitations, such as the travel restrictions introduced by the various countries, but the demand and the propensity to travel are there in people, so as soon as the restrictions are reduced or abolished, a significant increase in traffic can be expected. Budapest Airport expects short haul European connections to come back first, while long haul, overseas flights will take longer to return.