Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it is examining almost HUF 4.9 billion (around EUR 13 million) spent on private jet charters used for the official travel of former Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó between 2022 and 2026, with officials now also looking into the possibility of criminal liability.

The figures were published by György Velkey, the ministry’s parliamentary state secretary, who said the information had emerged during an ongoing internal review of the ministry’s previous spending.

Private jet costs increased year by year

According to the data released by the ministry,

private aircraft were chartered 53 times for Szijjártó’s official trips during the five-year period, at a total cost of HUF 4,865,701,595.

The annual breakdown is as follows:

  • 2022: 5 charter flights costing HUF 296.3 million
  • 2023: 13 charter flights costing HUF 850.4 million
  • 2024: 15 charter flights costing HUF 1.52 billion
  • 2025: 19 charter flights costing HUF 2.04 billion
  • 2026: 1 charter flight costing HUF 161.7 million

Earlier this week, the ministry disclosed that chartering private aircraft for Szijjártó’s official travel alone cost taxpayers more than HUF 2 billion in 2025.

Review raises questions over spending

In a Facebook post, Velkey argued that the review had revealed a steady increase in spending on private jet travel over the years. He also claimed that chartered aircraft had been used not only for long-haul destinations such as Washington, New York, Beijing, Turkmenistan and the Philippines, but also for much shorter regional trips to Belgrade, Bucharest and even the return journey from Vienna.

The state secretary further alleged that some charter flights were paid for but never used. According to his post, one aircraft costing more than HUF 18 million had been booked for a trip to Bratislava but was ultimately not used. He also claimed that another aircraft, chartered for HUF 32 million for planned trips to the Maldives and Lebanon, never departed.

Criminal liability being examined

Velkey said the ministry’s review will now move beyond financial analysis. “As a next step, we are also examining the issue of criminal liability,” he wrote, without providing further details about what legal measures, if any, could follow. At the time of writing, Péter Szijjártó had not publicly responded to the ministry’s latest statements.

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