Emirates Airline is welcomed to Hungary

Budapest Airport has welcomed the inaugural flight of its new partner, Emirates Airline.

Operated by its two-class 278-seat Airbus A330, the new daily service to Dubai is expected to deliver around 200,000 annual passengers to the central European airport.

Adding Dubai to its route network means the recently underserved Budapest-Middle East market is now more accessible than ever, and also allows Budapest Airport to provide more onward destinations to several new connecting markets including Sydney, Taipei and Sialkot.

With Emirates joining Qatar Airways, the Hungarian gateway will now be served by two of the Middle East’s three largest airlines, as well as home-carrier Wizz Air, which also serves Dubai World Central - Al Maktoum International Airport.

At the official opening ceremony, Budapest Airport chief executive, Jost Lammers welcomes the arrival of this significant new service and the airport’s fifth new airline this year.

Lammers said: “We are delighted Emirates has launched its daily wide-body service from Budapest to Dubai which will provide excellent connections through its Dubai hub.

“For a fast-growing market like Budapest, it is essential to have world-class airlines and, with tourism numbers to Budapest outperforming most European markets and robust GDP forecasts, we are confident that now is the ideal time to celebrate this route launch and we look forward to seeing Emirates upgrading the aircraft with more capacity in the not too distant future.”

Thierry Antinori, executive vice president, Emirates added: “Emirates’ new daily service will create additional air links to boost Budapest’s accessibility, and at the same time, we are also glad our Hungarian travellers will have better access to our global network.

“With over 60 destinations in the Far East and Australasia, West Asia, Indian Ocean and Middle East, both business and leisure passengers will benefit from enhanced links.

“I have no doubt that our new daily service to Budapest will stimulate growth and provide new opportunities for Hungarian trade and tourism.”