The Irish low-cost airline will fly a total of 50 routes from Budapest as part of its winter schedule.Continue reading
Irish low-cost airline Ryanair is planning a massive expansion in Hungary. In addition to the growth of its Budapest hub, Debrecen and Lake Balaton are also set to be added to the route network in the coming years, reports Világgazdaság.
The Irish airline is expecting a record-breaking 2025 summer season in Budapest, commercial director Jason McGuinness said at a press conference in Budapest on Tuesday.
Ryanair will connect the Hungarian capital with 68 destinations in the summer season, with over 640 flights.
Among them, he announced four new destinations:
The new destinations are available at a discounted price, with an introductory price of HUF 7,919 (EUR 19.72) until the end of May on the company’s website.
The expected recovery is due to the Hungarian government’s abolition of the extra profit tax on airlines, McGuinness said. He noted that this allows Ryanair an investment of around USD 1 billion in the expansion of its Budapest base, where ten aircraft, including two Boeing 737 8-200s, will be stationed. The development will indirectly generate 4,200 jobs and will increase Ryanair’s passenger numbers on routes to Budapest by 13 percent, which means 5.6 million passengers.
If the plans come to fruition and the government continues to be a partner, Ryanair will deliver a further EUR 1.6 billion of development in Hungary over the next five years, flying nine million passengers to and from Hungary every year, he noted.
The long-term plans include not only Budapest, but also Debrecen and Lake Balaton.
The latter two destinations are to be included in the service by 2030, at the latest.
This means 16 base aircraft and 180 new highly paid employees, bringing the total number of employees in Hungary to 480, McGuinness detailed.
The plans announced now may be realistic, as market analysts expect the airline to be supported by expanding capacity and rising passenger traffic in 2025, Világgazdaság points out. Ryanair shares could still have a potential upside of around 15 percent, while the stock has already improved its valuation since January.
Via Világgazdaság, Featured image: Pixabay