Budapest airport has a reason to celebrate

Budapest Airport has just recorded its strongest-ever first quarter with growth exceeding 12%, showing every sign that it is maintaining the surge which produced a record 9.16 million passengers in 2014. Serving close to two million passengers in the traditional “low season” at the start of 2015, the Hungarian gateway’s above-average performance puts the airport on course to surpass an initial forecast of 9.6 million passengers in 2015.

Last year’s all-time high saw passenger growth driven in all categories including long, short and mid-haul, network carriers, as well as among regional and charter airlines. Propelled by welcoming major new airlines such as Emirates, Air China, and Iberia, and having already announced a plethora of new routes for 2015 including: Toronto, Montréal, Beijing, Hurghada, Maastricht, Glasgow, Bologna and Alghero; Budapest continues its ceaseless growth and network expansion.

Commenting on the acceleration of Budapest Airport’s growth, Jost Lammers, CEO asserts: “With recent passenger development showing the allure of Budapest as a destination for both business and leisure, I am extremely optimistic that this very strong positive trend will
continue for the rest of this year, supported by our strategy to provide a great passenger experience and efficient infrastructure closely matched to the needs of our different airline partners.”
Achieving record revenues and operating profit, Budapest Airport has also successfully refinanced new loans, running until the end of 2019, with the solid backing of a consortium of international banks. As a result, 2014 saw the Central European airport continuing to invest in
the future of its infrastructure with extensive refurbishment of the runway and taxiway system, an upgrade of electricity networks, and several new commercial initiatives. As well as also recording a best-ever quarter for commercial revenues (exceeding 9% growth and
surpassing €15 million in overall retail and F&B sales), the airport is now launching a series of specialist retail tenders for significant areas of SkyCourt – the flagship F&B and shopping centre – in a move calculated to refresh the offers available and drive a higher spend-perpassenger.

Ingo Ludwig, Deputy CEO and CFO added: “Our dedication and commitment continue to be acknowledged and recognised. We were honoured with a Skytrax award as the top airport in Eastern Europe for a second consecutive year in March, an exceptional reward for our efforts
in terms of quality and sustainability. The strong operational profitability of Budapest Airport in 2014, and the successfully-completed refinancing, provides the airport with a stable
platform for continued strong and robust growth during the next five years.”