Hungarians to have easier access to New York, Beijing – UPDATED

HiSky, a Romanian airline, will offer its passengers to travel from Kolozsvár (Cluj Napoca) to New York via Bucharest. Unfortunately, Hungary does not have a direct air connection to Transatlantic destinations due to political reasons, but its flight network to the East is extending. Now, a Beijing flight will commute more frequently to Budapest.

According to Budflyer, a Hungarian air travel news Facebook page, HiSky, a Romanian airline, will launch a non-stop flight to New York from Kolozsvár (Cluj Napoca) and Kisinyov (Chișinău, Romania’s Moldova region). The new flight will carry passengers from this June, and people will have to change flights in Bucharest.

You can already book your flight in HiSky’s system. Based on the plans, the average transfer time will be 1 hour and 10 minutes to New York and 1 hour and 35 minutes from the Big Apple.

Kolozsvár is Romania’s second biggest city with almost 300 thousand citizens, of which more than 10%, 33 thousand are Hungarians.

More flights to Beijing

Unfortunately, Hungary does not have a direct air connection to any US or Canadian cities. The last time it had was before the coronavirus pandemic. Experts suggest that is because of the tense relationship between the Orbán and the Biden cabinets. For example, the USA unilaterally terminated a taxation agreement and introduced restrictions concerning Hungarian passport holders.

Furthermore, the Biden administration and the US ambassador in Budapest regularly criticise Orbán. They believe the Orbán cabinet undermines NATO, and the EU struggles to support Ukraine in their fight against Russia. Meanwhile, Orbán regularly highlights that Ukraine has no chance of victory and Ukraine is one of the most corrupt countries, so nobody should invest money or weapons in that war.