Budapest Airport faces hardships

Labour shortage, cancelled flights, lost baggage – airline companies and their passengers have it hard nowadays. The shortage of staff at European airports, coupled with the summer increase in air traffic, is causing disruptions in ground handling in particular, resulting in flight delays or cancellations. These problems are also having an impact at Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport, said the airport.

Reasons behind cancellations and disruption

A relatively small number of flights at Budapest Airport – 10 to 15 per week – are cancelled for operational reasons. Sometimes, due to accumulated delays, the receiving airport is unable to welcome the last flight, so it does not take off. Meanwhile other times, planes do not take off because ground handling is disrupted or workers are on strike, MTI quotes the company as saying.

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It is a good idea to check if everything is going well before departure so that you can transfer to another flight in time if necessary. Changes to timetables can be monitored on Budapest Airport’s website – however, passengers are not contracted to the airport operator but to the airlines, so in the event of cancellations or delays, they should contact the airlines, Budapest Airport underscores.

Inconveniences on Sunday and the current situation

On Sunday night, 150-200 passengers arriving in Budapest have been forced to spend the night in a completely empty building at Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport because they have not received their checked bags. The airport also addressed this unfortunate situation and apologised to them. They promise to do their best to avoid similar situations, napi.hu writes. They added that they consult with ground handlers on a daily basis and adapt to the constantly changing situation.

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Budapest Airport is currently quiet, with no increase in waiting times before departure and a maximum 10-minute wait during security checks. It is, however, still recommended to arrive 2 hours before departure for short-haul flights, but 3 hours for overseas flights. Parking should be booked in advance, as it is more difficult to find a space in heavy traffic, they added.