Malév Passengers Need To Note Schengen Changeover

Passport controls at the Ferihegy air border for all travellers flying to Schengen states have ceased. As a result of the new regulations, in future Malév will not only operate from Terminal 2A. All flights to and from Schengen countries continue to operate out of 2A, while non-Schengen traffic goes through 2B. 

Malév asks its customers to check before departure of the flight which terminal (A or B) their flight leaves from, or which terminal it arrives at so that anyone waiting to meet them is at the correct place. 

In addition, the Hungarian national airline continues to recommend that its passengers arrive at the airport at least two hours before flight departure. Malév warns that the check-in counters at both terminals of Ferihegy 2 close 40 minutes before departure time. 

Under the new system 61% of traffic will go through Ferihegy 2A, that is the Schengen terminal, and the remaining 39% through non-Schengen Terminal 2B. This means that there will be considerably greater traffic passing through Terminal 2A, in turn placing a greater burden on each check-in desk than before. 

Consequently there may be some congestion at flight check-in during peak periods. Therefore, the airline suggests that its passengers also make use of the Malév self-service check-in machines set up in Terminal 2A.  

Due to the Schengen operations system Malév aircraft will frequently be forced to use remote standing bays, for instance, if the aircraft is arriving from a Schengen country but is travelling on to a non-Schengen state, which is why customers will have to make more bus transfers than before, and the more time-consuming transit process could cause difficulties for connecting passengers.

Since Malév launches the greatest number of flights at Ferihegy airport, and Malév is the only airline to operate to both Schengen and non-Schengen countries, this change and the various inconveniences that go with it may impact most noticeably on Malév passengers. 

The airport has promised that the airline will not suffer major delays because of the switchover and the approaching summer high season, and says its passengers – given the appropriate information – will continue to be able to board their flights after the usual speedy and trouble-free ground handling. 

Although the most obvious effect of Schengen is that there is no passport control when crossing the borders of Schengen member states (including at the airport), a passport or personal identity card will still have to be shown at the check-in desk in order to confirm the traveller’s identity. 

A passport or personal identity card remains essential for all people within the Schengen zone; the authorities of the member states can demand to see it at any time. Passenger security checks remain fully in force both at the Schengen and non-Schengen terminals. Due to the traffic passing through the Schengen terminal, passengers may experience congestion at the check-in desks plus delays passing through security screening at peak times. 

Malév non-Schengen destinations – Terminal 2B: Amman, Beirut, Beijing, Bangkok, Cairo, Cluj-Napoca, Damascus, Dublin, Geneva, Istanbul, New York, Kiev, Larnaca, Saint Petersburg, London, Odessa, Bucharest, Pristina, Sarajevo, Skopje, Sofia, Moscow, Ekaterinburg, Podgorica, Targu Mures, Tirana, Tel-Aviv, Timisoara, Varna, Toronto, Zagreb and Zurich.

Malév Schengen destinations - Terminal 2A: Malaga, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Athens, Brussels, Paris, Copenhagen, Rome, Frankfurt, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Helsinki, Ljubljana, Lyon, Madrid, Munich, Milan, Prague, Thessaloniki, Stuttgart, Berlin, Venice and Warsaw."

Source: Budapest Business Journal