Budapest flight route to this Far Eastern destination to be shut down

Two daily flights carry passengers from Budapest to Ningbo, a Chinese metropolis close to Shanghai. But it seems the last one will take off on 29 May. The Hungarian government announced the flight in 2023, but, according to comment writers, it could not reach an acceptable load factor. The falling Hungarian industrial output could also be a reason behind the closure.

According to Budflyer, a Hungarian travel news Facebook page, China Eastern Airlines will not operate the Budapest-Ningbo flight after 29 May. The flight, opened in May 2023, carried passengers twice a week in the past two years. Interestingly, that was the only direct connection between any European city and Ningbo. Another advantage of the route was that tickets were cheap, and you could continue your travel to other Chinese destinations from the city for a favourable price.

Low load factor, struggling economy behind Budapest flight closure?

However, Budflyer says that, out of the seven Hungary-China direct flights, the Budapest-Ningbo struggled with the lowest load factor (only around 60 when the data were shared). The Facebook page added that the Budapest Airport’s planned charge rise, which Irish low-cost Ryanair talked about in a recent statement, could also contribute to the sad decision.

Budflyer mentioned another potential reason: the decreasing Hungarian industrial output, which lowers cargo demand and reduces profit on each plane that takes off. We wrote about the latest KSH data showing the Hungarian economy struggling in THIS article.

The closure of the Budapest-Ningbo flight means that the Hungarian capital has to say farewell to the second long-haul flight. Polish LOT announced the cancellation of their Seoul flight before.

Read also:

• Ryanair launches 4 new routes and record Budapest summer schedule – read more HERE
• Budapest Airport’s summer schedule brings important changes: here are the details

Featured image: depositphotos.com