New Flight Simulator to Open at Budapest Airport.

Tuesday 30th April 2013

Construction is nearing completion at Budapest Airport on a new flight simulator and training centre which will be installed and inaugurated next month (May). Dutch Flight Simulation Company b.v. (FSC) has signed a 10-year contract to both lease the building, which will accommodate a state-of-the-art Airbus A320 full flight Level D simulator and operate it as a crew training center to Wizz Air.

Budapest Airport had to modify the existing building significantly and add a bulge to the back façade in order to accommodate the new simulator. The building adjacent to the Wizz Air HQ at Gate "A" of Budapest Airport was previously home to the Boeing 737 simulator of Malév.  Following that carrier's sad demise Budapest Airport immediately set about finding a new tenant for the building.

Flight Simulation Company (FSC) of Holland, the former lessor of the Boeing simulator, will now be responsible for the Airbus flight simulator and it has also installed various cabin safety equipment to train Wizz Air cabin staff.

Wizz Air currently operates a fleet of over 40 Airbus A320 aircraft in 16 bases all over Central and Eastern Europe. The FSC training center will be of enormous benefit to the carrier as it continues to grow its network and keep up with the training and certification needs of its numerous pilots, conveniently at its home base.

"We have been working together with FSC and Wizz Air to find a new use for this building at Budapest Airport for the long term," said René Droese, Director Property of Budapest Airport. He added, "The construction of the new training center for Wizz Air is a clear sign that our airport continues to develop, serves the needs of our tenants, and that we are capable of responding to rapid changes both in aviation and the real-estate market.  I am confident that this three-way  co-operation of Budapest Airport, FSC, and Wizz Air will benefit all participants."

Flight Simulation Company (FSC) is a leading Dutch company which specializes in Flight Crew Training and Simulator Operations. FSC serves over  100 airline customers from all over Europe in its 12-bay simulator training center at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. In total, FSC operates 15 highly advanced Airbus and Boeing flight simulators and delivers flight crew training to many airlines.

FSC has been active in Hungary since 2006 , making available a Boeing 737-800 full flight simulator for the former Malév. After the collapse of Malév, FSC removed the Boeing simulator and has now installed a state-of-the-art Airbus A320 full flight simulator to train Wizz Air flight crews.  With this new agreement FSC will be both lessor of the building and operator of simulator. Highly motivated and qualified local staff have been employed by FSC to run the satellite operation in Budapest.

About Budapest Airport:

Budapest Airport Plc., the operator of Ferenc Liszt International Airport is owned by a consortium of German (KfW IPEX-Bank 4%) Canadian (Caisse de depôt et placement de Québec 18,167%), American (Aero Investment 10 %) and Singaporean (Malton Investments Pte Ltd. 18,167%) investors led by HOCHTIEF AirPort GmbH (49,666%). airport is home home to 41 airlines and carried  8.5 million passengers to 93 cities in 41 countries during 2012.

www.bud.hu