Budapest Airport fears negative effects of the departure tax
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Air travel in Western Europe has become complicated in recent times. Budapest is holding its own for the time being, and while there is no chaos, airport operators fear that the departure tax will lead to a significant drop in traffic. Read below to find out more.
The aviation sector is facing a huge labour shortage, but Budapest does not expect the same chaos as many Western European airports this summer. Budapest Airport anticipates a strong increase in traffic after two years of low tide. Based on the information received from an internal source, Napi.hu reports that the Hungarian airport employees do not plan to call a strike.
EU countries compared to Hungary
More than 191,000 airport workers across Europe lost their jobs after the COVID outbreak. This summer, the number of workers could approach 2019 levels. Augustin de Romanet, Chairman/CEO at Aeroports de Paris, said at the end of April that Charles de Gaulle and Orly Airports were facing a combined staff shortage of around 4,000 employees. The main shortages are of maintenance technicians and baggage handlers.
France’s main airport, Charles de Gaulle near Paris, went on strike for an immediate pay rise of EUR 300 EUR (HUF 120,000), cancelling a quarter of their flights, reports EuroNews. Baggage screening and boarding took longer and even those whose flights were not directly affected by the strike faced significant delays. Air France alone cancelled 85 flights that day.
On Wednesday, Ryanair workers in Italy went on strike, and thousands of EasyJet and Volotea workers in Italy also walked off the job. “This is only the first strike: this summer will be boiling,” added the Italian transport workers’ union.
Budapest attempts to steer clear
While it was confirmed that Budapest Airport’s financial situation is stable, there is a risk that the introduction of the departure tax will have a significant impact on traffic.