Budapest Airport showcases SkyCourt at ITB 2011: New routes for the summer to be presented.

Monday 7th March 2011

Budapest Airport, the Central and East European aviation hub, is attending this week's ITB in Berlin for the third time and with its largest presence yet. The airport is co-exhibiting with the Hungarian National Tourism Office at booth 101-104, Hall 11.1, and will showcase its impressive new SkyCourt building, which is on schedule to open by the end of March. In conjunction with the Hungarian Tourism Office Budapest Airport will present trade delegates and the visiting public with details of competitive air fares from Germany, and attractive Hungarian hotel offers.

SkyCourt, is Budapest Airport's brand new, state-of-the-art centrally located building, linking existing terminals 2a and 2b. The contemporary glass structure will double the commercial area of the terminals and will house an array of international brands, retail outlets and improved dining options for airport visitors. The building, which is expected to become an iconic Budapest feature, is a unique architectural structure designed to offer an excellent travel experience for all passengers. In addition the improved space also provides greater passenger capacity at the airport. In 2010 just under 8.2 million passengers moved through the airport and the number is expected to increase significantly over the coming years.

Budapest Airport will also be marking the recent award of the Carbon Accrediation Certificate from the Airports Council International. The certification acknowledges that the airport has measured and audited their carbon footprint according to established EU methods and is moving in the right direction to reduce carbon emissions. "Our end goal is to run a carbon neutral operation," says Kam Jandu, Budapest Airport's Aviation Director: "there's still a long way to go but it demonstrates the airport's commitment to reducing our carbon footprint, and that we have a genuine concern for the environment."

Patrick Bohl, Head of Airline Development and Strategy at Budapest Airport, will detail information about the variety of additional routes coming online for the German travel market. Lufthansa is to add a fourth daily service from Dusseldorf complementing their existing hub services from Munich and Frankfurt; both airports currently run five daily flights to Budapest. The CEE regions fasting growest low cost carrier Wizz Air has upped its weekly flights from Hahn and Weeze-Niederrhein to three a week; and early October will see Swiss-based SkyWork Airlines promoting a regular Bern to Budapest route. "We already have some excellent connections with Germany and the neighbouring countries, but our goal is to increase the offering for German passengers," comments Bohl.

Existing flights connecting Germany with Budapest include the Hungarian national carrier Malev's twice daily flights from Berlin-TXL, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Munich which also serve to provide excellent hub connections for passengers. Low cost carrier easyJet connects Dortmund with Budapest Airport's dedicated low cost carrier terminal with four flights a week between Dortmund and Budapest, in addition to 10 flights a week from Berlin SXF.

"The appeal of ITB is the significant amount of airlines it attracts," states Jandu,. "We can network with international carriers, build new relationships and develop existing partnerships all under one roof. Our presence also gives us a chance to meet the passengers using our services and discover more about their travel requirements. As ITB is one of the biggest international travel shows our attendance supports Budapest Airport's overall strategy of widening the client base, and raising the airport's profile."

About Budapest Airport:

Budapest Airport Zrt. owns and operates Ferihegy Airport. This is a public private partnership with the Hungarian State holding 25% and the remaining 75 percent owned by German company HOCHTIEF AirPort, one of the world's biggest independent airport managers, together with a further four financial investors: Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Montreal; GIC Special Investments, Singapore; and KfW IPEX-Bank, Frankfurt. In July 2008, Aero Investment S.á.r.l. became a new shareholder.

Through its BUD Future project Budapest Airport aims to be the aviation hub of the CEE region. Leading projects include:

SkyCourt - a new centrally located building which, when open in March 2011, will link the existing terminals 2a and 2b. The contemporary glass structure will also offer an impressive view of the apron and aims to provide passengers with a unique travel experience.

Cargo City - New on-airport cargo facilities will feature 140.000sqm of cargo and logistics terminals designed for airlines, handlers and integrators.

Budapest Airport incorporates two terminals. Terminal 1 is a dedicated low cost carrier terminal and Terminal 2 services the traditional carriers. The airport is also the base for Malev, Hungary's national airline and part of the One World alliance and is home to a further 32 airlines, serving over 92 destinations which represents 40 countries worldwide.

www.bud.hu