Budapest Airport received an award and a huge fine at the same time

Budapest Airport has just received a highly prestigious aviation award as well as a huge fine. The award was given during the Air Cargo News Awards 2022, the fine was received by the transport authority.

The Oscar of the industry…

In the cargo category, the airport of Budapest has won “the Oscar for air transport”, ahead of airports such as Singapore and Brussels, napi.hu reports. It has received the cargo airport of the year award at the Air Cargo News Awards 2022, the company told the telegraph office.

The annual awards ceremony of Air Cargo News, one of the largest international cargo media agencies, took place in London last Friday. The award, also known as the Oscars of the air transport industry, was given to Budapest Airport in the category of Cargo Airport of the Year, as decided by the jury. They added that the Hungarian airport beat such major centres that handle millions of tonnes of cargo a year as Brussels Airport Company, Singapore’s Changi Airport Group and Liege Airport.

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…and a huge fine

Budapest Airport Zrt. was fined HUF 10 million (EUR 24,500) by the competent authority for violating flight restrictions, while a ground handler was fined HUF 5 million (EUR 12,200) for holding back for five hours the baggage of passengers of a flight that landed at the airport after midnight at the end of June, Index reports. Many people were forced to wait in the terminal to get their bags in the morning.

According to information sent to Index by the Ministry of Technology and Industry (Technológiai és Ipari Minisztérium, TIM), the defaulting company was fined HUF 5 million by the traffic authority, while the airport operator, Budapest Airport Zrt., has to pay a fine of HUF 10 million for the number of planes moving around in the low sleep period, which was much higher than the allowed number.