Passengers had to spend the night at Budapest Airport
On Sunday, about 150-200 passengers could not collect their luggage at Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport. Therefore, they had to spend the night in the completely empty building.
There was no one to unload the planes
As 24.hu reports, the planes arrived late at night at the airport. Passengers had to wait for hours at the baggage carousel to collect their luggage. As it turned out, the staff had gone home earlier. Hence, there was no one to unload the planes. One of the planes was a low-cost Tel Aviv-Budapest flight. According to a passenger, families with small children and even babies had to spend the night at the airport. In addition, they did not receive any assistance. Passengers who were trapped in the area between the passport control and the glass doors could only get water from the toilets. Moreover, they did not receive information for hours. The ground handling company’s counter was closed and nobody picked up the telephone either.
Budapest Airport’s reaction
Budapest Airport told 24.hu, that due to disruptions at other European airports, 8 flights were delayed that night. Five of them arrived in Budapest more than an hour late. – writes hvg.hu. According to the airport, “The situation put a lot of pressure on the team involved in ground handling, therefore, it was not possible to provide service within the usual time period. In the context of this situation, the ground handling company concerned shall review its airport processes in order to avoid similar situations which are unacceptable to the airport operator.” The company in question is Menzies Aviation Hungary Kft.
Budapest Airport is well prepared for the summer season
Budapest Airport emphasises that it was not the high number of passengers that caused the problem. Difficulties like this can occur when many planes depart or arrive in a short period of time. In Budapest, this typically means the early morning and evening hours.
“Budapest Airport is prepared for the summer season in all respects – with technological innovations, infrastructure and human resources – in order to ensure smooth passenger handling and quality service..”
In fact, they will do their utmost to maintain a high-quality service and avoid incidents like the one that occurred on Sunday.
Source: 24.hu, hvg.hu