This is how Budapest Airport awaits customers when restrictions are lifted
Since the second half of March in 2020 due to the novel coronavirus, the Budapest Airport has been barely receiving any people and all over the world, the number of flights has decreased significantly. In order to stay functional, Budapest Airport has swayed from transporting people to transporting cargo for this rough period.
According to Bud, just like it is the case in Europe and in many places around the world, travel is still uncertain and Budapest airport has not seen an increase in people transport in the first quarter of 2021. This year, between the period of January and March, the Airport has only received 183,416 passengers, which compared to 2020 data is a huge loss. Back in 2020, the coronavirus had no serious impact on travelling up until the second half of March, so the airport had received 2,775,390 passengers in the first quarter of 2020.
This means that the overall flow of passengers have decreased by a shocking 93.4 % compared to the first quarter in 2020.
In order to stabilise its capacity, the airport focused on transporting more cargo than before and used its low passenger count to trigger expansions and developments that would have otherwise been a great disturbance if the passenger flow was as high as during pre-pandemic times. In fact, the first quarter of 2021 is a record-breaker of several fronts. The cargo transportation of the airport has increased by 19.3 % compared to last year’s same period says, Bud.
This accounted for a whopping 39,529 tonnes of cargo in the quarter and 14,904 tonnes just in March. This was the most cargo transport in the history of the airport in one single month.
Although currently under much smaller workloads and in a much worse financial situation, the Budapest Airport is counting on the future possibility of travel again and have launched several development and modernisation projects in their downtime. By the end of 2020, during the past two years, the airport has spent € 167 million on developments and continues to do so in the first quarter of 2021.
The number of coronavirus testing points have been expanded significantly, preparing for the possible need of administering more tests in the future.
This means that there will be an additional six test points at terminal 2B so that testing can be conducted in a safe way even if the number of passengers significantly increase. Also, there are four additional rooms that can be utilised as well if necessary.
Bud says that there are also several background developments going on as well. With them, the airport can continue to ensure safe flights and landings and the general safety and convenience of passengers. The new main gate which received EU support has also been finished. This will ensure a convenient and calm surrounding for passengers and workers and together with several roads, a bicycle lane was also added. The elevator at terminal 2A is also renewed as well as the cargo lift that transports large parcels and the airport have started the installation of a new escalator.
Budapest Airport does everything in its power to prepare to accommodate a large number of tourists once borders open up while keeping to the safety restrictions, but in the end, everything depends on the individual decision of countries on the conditions of travelling.
We have currently no information on how and when exactly the proper Hungarian travel for foreigners will be possible, but it is estimated that Hungary might open this summer. Daily News Hungary will keep you posted. We aim to provide you with the most up to date information we can get.
Read alsoHungary to reopen fully in June?
Source: Bud.hu