Hungarian news site 444.hu has published new details about one of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s private jet trips this summer, which had not been known until now. According to the outlet, Orbán returned home from the Croatian island of Brač on 19 August aboard a Bombardier Challenger luxury jet worth 17 million US dollars, provided by a foreign company.
The aircraft belongs to the fleet of NetJets, a Portugal-registered private jet rental company. The firm’s advertisements describe the model as having a spacious and luxurious cabin. Flight data also confirms that the aircraft with the registration number CS-CLA indeed flew from Brač to Budapest that day around noon.
444.hu also obtained a photograph showing Viktor Orbán standing on the steps of an expensive private jet, but chose not to publish it for source protection reasons.
The portal verified the authenticity of the source and confirmed the flight using Flightradar data.
According to the report, this means Orbán may have begun his holiday in Croatia earlier than previously known. Two days later, he returned to the island on a plane owned by Maria Schmidt’s business interests.
Orbán hurried to the EU videoconference
On the afternoon of 19 August, the Prime Minister participated in an extraordinary video conference of EU heads of state and government, convened following the Trump–Putin meeting in Alaska the previous day. The aircraft landed in Budapest just three minutes before the meeting began, meaning Orbán likely joined late, reportedly wearing jeans and a polka-dot shirt.
Images published by the European Council also show that the Budapest connection was initially inactive; the background of the Prime Minister’s location only appeared on the screen later, at around 1:23 p.m.
Continued secrecy
According to 444.hu, the Hungarian government has once again handled the matter with secrecy. The outlet received no answers from either Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó or the Prime Minister’s Office regarding who paid for the Bombardier jet’s rental fee, which, according to industry estimates, could have cost as much as USD 16,000 per hour.
Interestingly, Brač Airport is partially owned by Sunce Hotels, a company linked to Dubai businessman Mohamed Alabbar. His name may sound familiar to readers, especially to Hungarians: he is the developer behind the planned “mini-Dubai” project at Budapest’s Rákosrendező site and has business ties with Gellért Jászai’s 4iG company.
Based on 444.hu’s summary, available data indicate that Viktor Orbán hurried home from his Croatian holiday on a luxury jet, only to return a few days later on another private plane owned by one of the government’s well-known business figures.
Drain the swamp?
Thanks to the continuous ”State of emergency” that allows government to keep their spending and activities in secrecy, we will most likely never know the details of how public money is used for this kind of nonsense nor how much services Fidesz politicians receive from private sector in exchange for good business deals. Hungary is far from a normal transparent democracy, but hopefully thing will soon change for the better.
Good point Ostanus. From Grok AI:
Evidence of Assisting in Hiding Spending and Activities
Yes, according to multiple independent reports and watchdogs, the state of emergency has facilitated the Hungarian government’s ability to obscure spending and activities, often in ways that benefit ruling party allies. Key points include:
Corruption and Cronyism: The emergency powers have normalized “informal political-business networks” where public funds are funneled to Fidesz-linked entities without competitive bidding. Transparency International (TI) has repeatedly highlighted this, ranking Hungary as the EU’s most corrupt country in 2023 and 2024, with emergency rule exacerbating the issue by shielding transactions from scrutiny. A 2021 TI report specifically criticized the regime for redirecting pandemic funds to domestic and foreign clientele networks.
Reduced Oversight: Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented in its 2025 World Report how the powers enable the government to “override any act of parliament,” including audits by bodies like the State Audit Office, which has faced accusations of political bias. This has led to unmonitored spending on projects like stadiums and media outlets controlled by Orbán allies.
Broader Suppression: The regime has been used to target anti-corruption efforts, such as raids on investigators probing government graft in January 2025, described as politically motivated. Critics, including the European Parliament, have labeled Hungary a “hybrid regime” partly due to how emergency powers entrench corruption by limiting media and NGO access to information. International Concerns: The U.S. State Department noted in its 2024 Investment Climate Statement that uninterrupted emergency powers since 2020 allow bypassing Parliament, contributing to a climate of impunity. The OECD canceled an anti-bribery mission to Hungary in October 2024 over government interference, underscoring fears of hidden corrupt activities.