SkyCourt inaugurated at Budapest Airport’s Terminal 2

The SkyCourt, the new building at Terminal 2 of Budapest Airport has been officially inaugurated in the presence of more than a thousand guests. The ceremony was attended by dr. Pál Völner, secretary of state responsible for infrastructure at the Ministry of National Development, who was amongst the speakers, as well as numerous foreign diplomats accredited to Budapest, the management of Budapest Airport and dignitaries from Hungarian civil aviation and public life.

Memorable airport infrastructure, elegant architectural solutions, fast and comfortable passenger services and a European level catering and retail offer. This is how the new five-storey, 24 000 square meter terminal building inaugurated today at the Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Budapest can best be summarized. The SkyCourt significantly increases the capacity of Terminal 2, from 4.5 – 5 million to 8.5 million passengers per year. Passenger traffic at the airport will be able to reach as much as 20 million passengers per year after the further extension of the SkyCourt.

The SkyCourt building was designed by Ybl Prize-winning architect Zoltán Tima and a team of engineers from Hungarian architectural design company KÖZTI, for Budapest Airport. Even before it was completed, the building won the Tierney Clark award from the British-Hungarian Chamber of Civil Engineers. Construction began in the spring of 2009, with Szeged-based construction company KÉSZ Plc. as main contractor, and was completed within the planned budget of approximately 88 million euros (about 24.4 billion HUF) and before the 15 February 2011 deadline. In the new terminal building, 39 catering and retail outlets will offer their services on 4300 square meters, including the largest unit, a 1400 square meter walk-through duty free shop operated by the German company Heinemann.

“The vast majority of visitors who arrive in Hungary by aircraft obtain their first impressions of us and our country here at this airport,” emphasized dr. Pál Völner, secretary of state at the Ministry of National Development, in his speech given at the opening ceremony. “The new, more spacious and more comfortable terminal will project a more friendly, more welcoming image of Hungary. Going forward it will also be more a pleasant experience for us Hungarians to return from trips abroad.”

“You need big and powerful shareholders to develop a large airport like Budapest. I think we have the best group of shareholders possible and I am grateful that they are all represented here today,” said Reiner Schränkler, chairman of the Board of Directors of Budapest Airport. “Here I want to thank the team of Budapest Airport for realizing the SkyCourt on budget and on time.”

Passengers will be able to move through the new terminal building much faster than before, and the indispensable security screening will also become speedier and more comfortable, since 6 new security lanes will be installed on each of the two sides of the SkyCourt. The basement of the building houses a state-of-the-art, computer-controlled, automatic baggage sorting system consisting of five baggage belts.

A plaque commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ferenc Liszt, the world-famous Hungarian composer whose name will now be borne by the airport, was unveiled as part of the inaugural ceremony.

The general public will also have an opportunity to see and marvel at the SkyCourt after the opening ceremony for two days during the open weekend organized by the airport operator. The first passengers will then be able to travel through the new central hall at Terminal 2 one week later, on 27 March.