Hungary to receive more budget flights

According to a press release by Jet2, which is a trading name of Channel Express (Air Services) Ltd., the first Budapest flight will take off on Dec. 1, as the inaugural flight to the company’s new hub at Manchester. Tickets to Budapest – along with eight other new destinations, including Faro (Portugal), Valencia (Spain) and Venice – went on sale Sept. 29.

Market rumors arose about Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair following Jet2, as Irish-owned Cape Clear Aviation Kft was last week announced as being about to rent Balaton West Airport. The airline’s communications department declined to comment on the announcement, which was made by the local mayor.

“Our route development scheme is in progress. Ryanair is in negotiations with several airports in several countries,” a communications executive of the company said.

Cape Clear will rent the airport in question – located in Sármellék, near Lake Balaton – as of November, and plans to upgrade it into a fully functional airport by next summer, owners of the airport announced last week.

“Cape Clear originally signed a contract with the local authorities of Sármellék and Zalavár [owners of the airport] in April,” Sármellék Mayor Vendel Szabó told the BBJ. “Now it is only waiting for the permission of the Civil Aviation Authority (PLH).”

Cape Clear is owned by Irish and Hungarian individuals. Gábor Horváth, one of the owners, said the company is in talks with various airlines which might fly to Sármellék.

“Cape Clear is holding talks with airlines, among them some key market players,” Horváth confirmed, while declining to comment on rumors about Cape Clear having ownership ties to Ryanair.

In order to boost the Sármellék airport’s traffic, Cape Clear will invest around Ft 1 billion (€4.06 million) in its infrastructure.

“We will invest in a landing light system, as well as an Instrument Landing System allowing planes to use the airstrip 24/7, irrespective of weather conditions,” Horváth said.
According to Szabó, the airport in its present form can only be used in clear weather and good visibility conditions.

Szabó also mentioned that a Ft 670 million non-repayable state subsidy will help improve and upgrade the airport’s infrastructure, albeit in 2005 at the earliest.

Balaton West Airport recorded 21,200 passengers, 120 large aircraft and 1,240 small aircraft in the first nine months of this year. In the whole of last year, the number of passengers totaled 22,000.

In related news, U.S.-based NetJets Inc. has been reported as planning to expand its activities – private and corporate aircraft rental services – to Hungary in the near future.

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