Hungary: Airport CEO sees Budapest back in game after Malev collapse

Hungary’s main international airport is bouncing back from the collapse of national carrier Malev and closing in on Prague and Warsaw in the race to become the key hub in central and Eastern Europe, its CE said. Budapest Airport, which posted the steepest rise in passenger numbers in central Europe in 2015 and the first eight months of 2016, expects to keep increasing the number of people and amount of cargo it handles, CEO Jost Lammers said Tuesday. Lammers has been in charge in the period following Malev’s bankruptcy in 2012, which threatened to cost Budapest Airport as many as 40% of its passengers and half of its revenue. As discount carriers filled the void, the aerodrome recovered to post a 10.2% rise in passenger numbers through August this year, surpassing the 6.6% increase in Prague and the 9 percent expansion in Warsaw. "We benefited from the collapse of Malev in learning to be more focused on key issues and marketing, and not sit back and count on existing infrastructure to drive the business," Lammers said. "Budapest is catching up and our relative position is much closer to our regional peers." Lammers expects 11.2m travelers to use the facility this year, up from last year’s record 10.3m. <br/>