Bad weather may throw Budapest Airport into chaos again: Long-term solution needed

The Hungarian government reacquired Budapest Airport this summer, so it has become their responsibility to avoid the chaotic scenes we experienced in May and June. The new leadership made some rearrangements concerning the work schedules of the Hungarian air traffic controllers, but that does not change the fact that Hungarocontrol needs major workforce expansion.

Probes launched against airlines

The first weeks of the summer were certainly not the heyday of air travel holidays in Europe. The operation of nearly all airports was chaotic. Some passengers had to wait 48-72 hours for their outbound flights or homeward journeys. Even PM Viktor Orbán voiced his criticism and called the situation unacceptable.

Not surprisingly, the Government Office of Budapest launched 15 investigations against several airlines, including Wizz Air, Ryanair, SunExpress, and Eurowings. In three cases, the airlines have assumed responsibility and started compensating passengers, the government office said on 7 August.

Evidently, fines and compensation cannot solve the core problem. The Hungarian government acquired Budapest Airport this summer. One of their first measures was to behead Hungarocontrol, even though experts never criticised the company’s management. They always said there was insufficient money to pay air traffic controllers competitive wages. As a result, few employees remained, while at the same time, air traffic increased in Hungary’s airspace.

Rewritten air traffic controller schedules

Márton Nagy, Hungary’s minister for national economy, started talking about doubling the airspace fee. He said such a measure would not cause a drop in air traffic over Hungary; however, the increasing revenue would enable them to pay Hungarian air traffic controllers more. He said then that they were thinking about the realisation of the initiative.

Since then, nothing has happened. G7.hu wrote that the new management of Hungarocontrol rewrote air traffic controllers’ schedules: more employees serve the 5 AM–7 AM time slot now. As a result, there are no or fewer delays from the base airport, which is significant because planes make two or three turns a day. Even a short delay in the morning can ruin the whole day’s schedule.

Moreover, the number of delays and cancellations was reduced all across Europe because the weather was better in July and August.

Concerning the new Hungarocontrol management, András Radó, the communications director of Wizz Air, said communication was already satisfying between the two companies, and it became even more intensive after the change.

Budapest Airport needs more air traffic controllers

However, rewriting schedules is only a temporary solution, G7 argues. The summer air travel peak is over, and as autumn comes, the number of flights and passengers will drop, which can hide the problem for months.

G7’s article suggests that unexpected bad weather can throw Budapest Airport into chaos. Thus, a long-term solution is needed. Since the training process for air traffic controllers is long, we could attract people from European companies with higher wages. However, G7 writes nothing about a possible and significant salary increase at Hungarocontrol.

Read also:

• Wizz Air adds 4 new destinations from Budapest – read the details HERE
• This is how the Orbán cabinet could reduce delays and cancellations at Budapest Airport