Grand Liszt Ferenc Gala in Budapest

During its 12th Annual Gala held in Terminal 1 of Budapest Liszt Ferenc – Ferihegy Airport last Thursday, the operator honored its partners, awarding 16 accolades for superior contributions to BUD’s outstanding results achieved in 2018. Airlines, ground handlers, forwarders and, not to forget, the roughly 10,000 employees and suppliers ensured that 2018 became one of the most successful years in the history of the 1950 built facility.

The figures presented by the management are impressive: the number of carriers serving BUD increased again last year, standing currently at 45 airlines. They link Budapest with 134 destinations in 48 countries. Almost 15 million passengers arrived or departed there, up 13.5 percent on the previous year. Cargo grew even more, reaching 146,000 tons handled at BUD (+15.9% y-o-y).

The Malev gap has been closed
Indeed, an amazing recovery and success story against the background of the insolvency of former Hungarian national carrier Malev that bit the dust in early 2012. Ever since, other passenger airlines have closed the gap, complemented by an increasing number of all-cargo carriers that added BUD to their network as did integrators seen by the large DHL €160m investment in two state-of-the-art sorting and distribution centers in the vicinity of Ferihegy. 
Due to this consecutive traffic upswing experienced by the airport for some time now, BUD’s management in close consultation with private majority owner AviAlliance (55.44%) and the other stakeholders celebrates a Grand Gala at the beginning of each year, honoring close business partners for their contribution to the success. This time, more than 300 invitees attended the Gala, among them representatives of cargo and passenger airlines, ground handlers, retailers, and police officers who are responsible for safety and security issues at BUD day after day.