Best of Budapest & Hungary

The Hungarian capital airport has once again won Skytrax’s “Best Airport in Eastern Europe” award at the World Airport Awards. This year marks the eleventh time in a row that Budapest Airport has earned the prestigious accolade, based on passenger feedback. The Skytrax Awards are based on the World Airport Survey questionnaires, which are completed by airline passengers of more than 100 nationalities over a seven-month survey period, through an organization independent of the airport operator.

    The World Airport Awards was held on 17 April in Frankfurt, as part of the Passenger Terminal EXPO, where Budapest Airport received the Skytrax award for the best airport in the region for the eleventh consecutive year. The award is based on the results of a questionnaire prepared by an independent research organization, in which passengers of more than 100 different nationalities rate the travel experience and the various airport services over a seven-month period, from arrival, through check-in and security screening to departure at the boarding gates.

    Despite the challenges of the past four years – a global pandemic, international conflicts and a difficult economic situation - 2023 was the most successful year for the airport, thanks to the experience, speedy and flexible decisions of management and the shareholders. By the end of the year, passenger traffic exceeded 14.7 million and air cargo volumes passed the dream threshold of 200 000 tons. Thanks to the work of the airport community, the airport was voted the best in Europe for 2022 and its progress was recognized by the industry with a four-star rating. In 2023, Budapest Airport continued to work throughout the year to maintain and improve this outstanding quality. Passengers were able to enjoy developments such as the expansion of the self-service baggage drop-off system, the installation of quiet boxes in the terminals and the opening of a new observation and smoking terrace in Terminal 2B. New play areas were added to the range of family-friendly services, and the newest children’s play area is currently under construction in Pier B. Since last year, security screening has been made even more seamless with the introduction of a queue display system available on many surfaces, including Budapest Airport’s website, 520 square meters of space and two new baggage carousels were added to the baggage reclaim area in Terminal 2A, several taxiways and the asphalt and concrete pavement of the curbside were refurbished to a value of 16 million euros, the new Terminal Parking facility opened with 586 parking spaces for cars and 8 spaces for coaches and the construction of a second airport hotel commenced.

    Edward Plaisted, the CEO of Skytrax said: “Budapest Airport is amongst the most successful airports in the World Airport Awards program and is a repeat winner as the Best Airport in Eastern Europe. The ongoing achievements are a true testament to the daily hard work of airport staff and management, and the airport should be delighted at being recognized yet again by customers for its excellence.”

    “Budapest Airport would like to thank all members of the airport community for their dedicated work, which has enabled the airport to earn the best airport in the region award for the eleventh time, through continuous development and quality services,” said Kam Jandu, the CEO of Budapest Airport. He added: “I see in this award the cohesion and perseverance of our community, which has been a feature of our daily life for many years. We are a team that pulls in the same direction, and this continuous work produces results passengers clearly appreciate every year.”