Ferihegy Airport, Budapest, Hungary

Budapest Ferihegy International Airport serves the capital city Budapest and the surrounding areas. The airport is one of four international airports in Hungary but is by far the largest.

The international connections from the airport are primarily within Europe, but there are also some to Asia, the Middle East, and North America. Located 10 miles (16km) south-east of the centre of Budapest, the airport has excellent transport links via the four-lane M0 Budapest ring road expressway and is accessible by articulated bus and car.

A municipal rail link to the airport's three terminals is promised for 2007. The airport is big enough to accept the largest passenger aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and also large cargo transporters such as the Antonov An-124; it has not yet been decided if there are sufficient facilities to accept the Airbus A380.

In December 2005, BAA Plc secured a 75% stake in Ferihegy Airport for a consideration of HUF464.5bn (Hungarian Forint) ($2.1bn). BAA now have a lease to operate the airport for the next 75 years.

By the end of 2005 the airport had served in excess of eight million passengers. For the 12 months to April 2006, total passenger traffic reached 8.24 million a 17.8% rise over the same period in the previous year.

The increase is being driven largely by the number of passengers travelling by low-cost airlines, which reached, for the year ending April 2006, more than 2.29 million low-cost passengers – a 2.4% rise.

AIRPORT TERMINALS

The airport has three main terminals (1, 2A, 2B) and also a smaller one for general aviation (GAT) flights.

Terminal 1 was demolished in 2004 to make way for a new Terminal 1 that serves all the low-cost airlines now flying into Hungary. The terminal was recently reconstructed and opened up to the public in September 2005.

Terminal 2A was originally built exclusively for MALÉV Hungarian Airlines, but it now serves MALÉV's airline partners as well. The terminal is modern and well-designed and replaced the original terminal, constructed in 1985.

Terminal 2B is treated as a separate terminal although it is connected to Terminal 2A and it serves all of the international flights and airlines not served by Terminal 2A.

The general aviation terminal located on the left side of Terminal 1 serves private planes, and also has an apron parking area for them. The airport has two runways of approximately 3,000m and 3,700m.

EXPANSION

The reconstruction of the 24,000m² Terminal 1 began with the demolishing of the old terminal in October 2004. The deadline for the construction of the new building was tight with only nine months being allowed.

By July 2005 the reconstruction of Terminal 1 had been accomplished and its technical opening was carried out, although the terminal was not opened to passengers until September 2005. The oldest terminal had now been turned into the most modern, capable of handling over 2.5 million passengers a year.

The construction contractor, Magyar Építő Részvénytársaság, reconstructed the building using a generic steel frame structure and was also responsible for the building service engineering and electric systems including connection of the public utility conduits and the air-conditioning.

Ervin Jaklics was the Chief Designer of the new terminal and he worked very closely with a team from the Hungarian architecture firm ÁMRK.

Also, as part of the terminal reconstruction, a parking area of 300 parking lots was built for Terminal 1 to serve the hire car, drop off zone and also the newly designated taxi service for the airport (replacing the notoriously corrupt taxi service).

The reconstruction of Terminal 1 is only the first phase of the long-term development of the airport, which is seeing an above-average increase in passenger traffic year on year.

AIR CARGO BASE

Prior to BAA's take over of the airport a new large air cargo facility was about to be built at the airport.

The construction was delayed by a political scandal about public spending that led to contract cancellations (because inflated prices were to be paid for the land at Ecser and Vecses).

More importantly, BAA is committed to expanding the airport operation and when asked about the new cargo base they said that the current land owned by the airport was sufficient. The previous management purchased ACD Kft, the owner of the land suitable for the cargo base, in February 2005.

According to the multi-phase contract worth a total of HUF4.7bn, BA Rt (the airport management company) would have been the majority owner of the company that owned the 20ha (200,000m²) land adjoining the airport, and would have built the base on the land having all the building permits required for the development.

The move was required because there was not enough space for the new cargo base and the logistical centre within the boundaries of the airport. The contract was then declared null and void at the insistence of the then finance minister, although BA's management had authorisation from the State Holding Company ÁPV Rt to conclude the agreement. The new owner will now decide how to proceed with the cargo base.

RAPID TAXIWAY

In April 2006 the new taxiway, named Julietta, was opened. The new facility expands the airport's capacity and also minimises the noise impact on surrounding communities.

The new taxiway will reduce the occupancy time of Runway 1 and its capacity will increase as a result of the development, thereby reducing the need to use Runway 2 for arrivals from the direction of Budapest.

Construction began in September 2005 with the pavement itself completed by the end of October, and lighting and control technology installed by the first quarter of 2006. There are now three rapid exit taxiways at Ferihegy airport: Zulu, Yankee and J4 (Julietta).

For the construction, 10,000m² of earth was moved and 12,000m² of filling material was used. The 30,000m² pavement is made of special asphalt designed to bear the weight of the largest aircraft.

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