Budapest Airport is taking action to fill slots left empty by the failure of Hungarian national carrier Malev last week, but is urging the country’s government not to put obstacles in the way.
The airport has launched a special route recovery incentive programme to attract the most appropriate operators to replace the services.
"We are, of course, saddened by the collapse of Malév," said Jost Lammers, the airport’s CEO.
"But we now move into the post-Malév era with a degree of optimism. We are open for business as usual and would like to thank the airlines who have already stepped in to operate some of the routes previously flown by Malév – we will continue to work with these airlines and others, with a view to offering sensible long-term solutions."
The airport’s operator, Budapest Airport Zrt, is urging the Hungarian authorities to remove obstacles currently preventing airlines from picking up the lost Malév capacity.
"For example, there are four regulated agreements which allow only one Hungarian airline to fly routes to Turkey, Israel, Russia and the Ukraine," it said.
"On flights to and from these destinations, only Malév had the right to fly. It is imperative that the Hungarian authorities move quickly to close these gaps; otherwise the road to recovery will be much slower."
Following Malev’s collapse, airlines including British Airways, Air France, KLM, Germanwings and Brussels Airlines increased frequency on their Budapest routes.
Lufthansa & Wizz Air increased capacity on some of their existing routes from Budapest and also announced new routes to help market recovery.
Air Berlin launched a new service between Budapest and Berlin starting this week, while Ryanair announced the start of five new routes in March (see earlier story).
by Bev Fearis
