Budapest Airport reports busiest May on record.

Wednesday 8th June 2011

Budapest Airport handled more than 776,704 passengers last month, seeing its busiest month of May ever. Additionally the first five months of 2011 cumulative generated 3,163,412 passengers, another all time record.

The airport saw an increase of 8.3% in passenger traffic over May 2010 and an increase of 13.1% year to date (January to May) compared to the same period last year. These results follow hard on the heels of strong first quarter results that were well ahead of both the EU average and Budapest's peer airports within the central and eastern Europe region.

"These results are highly satisfying particularly as the market is growing well ahead of our projections," said Kam Jandu, Director of Aviation. "The continued growth in passenger numbers demonstrates the attraction of our route network to business and leisure travellers alike.

Strong performances from some of the major flag carriers, the low cost segment and cargo freighter traffic have all contributed to the growth, as has the launch of new routes by Qatar Airways, American Airlines (to New York) and jet2.com (to Edinburgh). We anticipate that the trend will continue for at least the next few months as more slots have been requested for summer 2011 than ever before at the airport. Early indications for the winter season also look promising and will galvanise our mission to be the best airport within the Central/Eastern European Region."

The continued growth in passenger numbers underlines the need to maintain the ongoing development and investment programme at Budapest Airport. The recent opening of its stunning new SkyCourt terminal building linking terminals 2a and 2b has significantly increased the capacity of Terminal 2 to 8.5 million passengers per year. Further developments are proposed which will ultimately mean passenger traffic at the airport will be capable of reaching up to 20 million per year.

About Budapest Airport:

Budapest Airport Zrt. operates Budapest 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 formally opened on 27 March 2011, and links the existing terminals 2a and 2b. The contemporary glass structure offers 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