BUDAPEST FERIHEGY AIRPORT review : 5 May 2009 : by J Bertani

Customer Rating : 3/5

Very easy and fast transfer from T2A (shengen) to T2B (non-shengen) though the airport is under a major make over between the 2 sides. Good duty free shops with prices par the rest of EU airport. Downside: rude staff at the immigration and security. Regarding the latter I had to argue with one of the staff member asking all passengers to take their shoes off when passengers on the other lane didn't have to. Also T2A has become fully packed since Hungary is in the shengen zone.

BUDAPEST FERIHEGY AIRPORT review : 23 April 2009 : by Norman Gamble

Customer Rating : 3/5

Arriving from Dublin, mid-morning, we have always been impressed with the quick arrival of luggage, and eth short distance to the 200E bus, but tickets are hard to find unless you know how the system works, and only single tickets are available at the newsagents and the hard to understand ticket machine. Once on the bus, the run in to the city is very quick, either by Metro or by the new rail link, but why does one have to go to Terminal 1 to buy a ticket for this? Also, how does one get a ticket to Cegled/Szeged? While the airport works well in this direction, leaving is more problematical as the check-in desks are too close to the entrance door and crowds waiting at busy periods fill the space available. Once through security ( which we have always found efficient, the catering facilities are extortionate, thanks possibly to either high rents for the concession or a monopoly: all outlets are Sbarro and a bit of competition might not go amiss: our main comparision is with Dublin Airport where food prices are higher than landside but not outrageously so, and the standard of food is pretty good. In Ferihegy it is pretty poor, there is nothing Hungarian except the beer, and Borsodi is pretty much an inferior brew to Dreher or even Soproni.

BUDAPEST FERIHEGY AIRPORT review : 20 December 2008 : by A Johansen

Customer Rating : 3/5

Terminal 1 is small and boring. Very few shops. Baggage are very small and crowded. 2 wifi net, Pannon and T-mobile. Pannon is free. Taxi with fixed price just outside the entrance. A nice and clean airport, but it should be bigger.

BUDAPEST FERIHEGY AIRPORT review : 12 November 2008 : by Dennis Ragan

Customer Rating : 2/5

I arrived in late September and departed three weeks later. I found the airport somewhat small yet pleasant. Only one person at the help desk in the arrival area spoke English, that I know of, and I didn't find him very pleasant or helpful. I wish he would have helped me more with what turned out to be a nightmare in getting to the downtown train station. He made it sound like it would be a simple bus ride to the train station. Moreover, the ATMs were out of commission, and I got ripped off when I made a one-minute pay phone call to the US to let my wife know I had arrived safely. I foolishly was lured into believing one of the stickers on the pay phone that promised an inexpensive charge card call to the US. I even read all the fine print and believed it to be legit.

BUDAPEST FERIHEGY AIRPORT review : 31 October 2008 : by A Hijmans

Customer Rating : 3/5

Terminal 2 at Budapest Ferihegy is small and user-friendly landside, even smaller and very crowded airside. At peak times there are definitely not enough seats, or catering outlets for that matter. Also, BUD is the only airport I have ever encountered where you have to pay to enter a viewing platform. Previous poster is correct about transport into the city: bus 200E to Kobanya-Kispest metro station and then onwards into the city centre on line 3 is your best bet. Takes about 40 minutes, even on a Sunday.

BUDAPEST FERIHEGY AIRPORT review : 12 August 2008 : by Lawrie Hall

Customer Rating : 4/5

Terminal 2 very good except the mid and eastern European penchant for charging two to three times the price for a beer as city centre. The news that Budapest Ferihegy airport now has an inter city rail station has to be taken with a pinch of salt. If proceeding by train bear in mind that you have to get a bus no 200 (200 forints, buy tickets at the newsagents in terminal 2 arrivals) to the entrance to Terminal 1 (go into terminal 1 if you need to buy a rail ticket - there are no staff at all on the station). The station is not in the terminal. All in all, if you're going other than towards Szolnok or Debrecen you're still better off taking bus 200 to Kobanya Kispest and going to the city centre by Metro line 3.

BUDAPEST FERIHEGY AIRPORT review : 11 August 2008 : by D Balinowski

Customer Rating : 3/5

Arrived from Frankfurt. Nothing spectacular. Baggage claim a bit crowded and chaotic. I asked the attendant at the taxi stand for a taxi that took credit cards and he assured me every single cab serving the airport did. That wasn't the case when we arrived at the hotel. I had no forints, so we had to take a drive and search for an ATM. Not the driver's fault, but he was gracious enough not to charge me extra for the bank machine hunt.

BUDAPEST FERIHEGY AIRPORT review : 18 June 2008 : by Gyorgy Szeibert

Customer Rating : 4/5

Midday transfers at Schengen terminal between Malev flights. Smooth, fast and efficient. Terminal 2 is clean and easy to navigate. Can connect to internet via wlan. Only downside is the food pricing.

BUDAPEST FERIHEGY AIRPORT review : 19 May 2008 : by Y Mor

Customer Rating : 3/5

I had a 2 hour late night layover in Terminal 2. Arrived in Terminal 2a at around 2300. After passing customs the terminal was empty, no information desk or indication in the terminal of how to get to the other terminals or which airlines are where. Walking to terminal 2b, checking in, passport control, security were smooth enough 3) the 2 hour wait was unpleasant however: the Gates area has smoking and non-smoking sections and it was impossible to avoid walking through the smoking sections from time to time. Food areas were particularly smoky. Generally it just seemed crowded and unpleasant.

BUDAPEST FERIHEGY AIRPORT review : 11 May 2008 : by T Owen

Customer Rating : 2/5

What have they done with this airport? As a regular user of Terminal 1, I now find this airport to be very poor for departures. It is now laid out so that all UK flights go from gates 5 to 10, and no access is allowed to gates 1to 5 (the largest side of the airport) Twice in April I have been enclosed in the small area at gates 5 to 10. There is only one bar / restaurant, which does not take credit cards, and queuing is extensive, toilet facilities are total inadequate especially when there are delayed flights. On April 30th, over 700 people on 6 flights were crowded shoulder to shoulder for over 2 hours. We could all look through the glass doors into gate 1 to 5 area, where not a soul could be seen! Lets hope they learn quickly from their mistakes and open this area up again, or there will be severe problems in the summer. 5 star for arrival, 1 star for departure.

BUDAPEST FERIHEGY AIRPORT review : 29 April 2008 : by R Hopkins

Customer Rating : 3/5

Ferihegy terminal 1. The building is clean and tidy, one of the most pleasant I've seen. Arrival very quick and easy. Info desk not immediately visible but helpful once there. Signs to station clear until the bridge itself. Departure less good. There are pleasant cafes overlooking the airport if you do have a wait. Check-in (Easyjet) no problem, but we turned round and suddenly a queue was developing round the hall, seemingly because of several close departures. Luckily, we went straight to it and snaked slowly through security fending off queue jumpers as we went. Why don't staff do this? It was long, hot and slow and the queue grew rapidly behind us with no apparent organisation. Once through security, there aren't many shops and it's easy to see why people leave it pretty late before going through. Staff at duty free are helpful and flexible about combining left-over currency with euros. Usual Easyjet shambles at the gate, of course, but hey, that's why we do cheap travel, isn't it?

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Adrian Buday

27 January 2008   Customer Rating :

I often fly Ferihegy I, the "old" airport, which is more pleasant than the other one since the renovations because of its architectural character and cosiness. It's clean, there are good facilities for having a meal, gifts, or journals before the flight, and the airport taxi system is clear. In the airport shops, the service is courteous overall, although once I was appalled at the behavior of the cashier at the large duty-free shop, who rolled her eyes at a customer because she couldn't speak English. The length of the queues at check in is a minus.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Valentin Moise

16 December 2007   Customer Rating :

Arrived at terminal 1 Ferihegy BUD airport, very clean, through passport control in a breeze, and in the luggage reclaim area. As we entered this area, our luggage were already coming in. Very pleased with this terminal.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Gyorgy Szeibert

25 August 2007   Customer Rating :

Make a new train stop all way faster from downtown to here. Take train from Nyugati pu. towards Cegled/Szolnok -buy your ticket at machines-, takes about 17 mins & 250 HUF (1 euro) until Budapest- Ferihegy, Terminal 1 (low cost terminal) is 10 mins on foot, Terminal 2A & 2B is about 12 mins by bus -need a BKV-ticket. Ferihegy is not a big airport but good salamis & good wines. Ground staff nice but security check never gives me a safe feeling. Maybe because of the behave of security staff.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Matt Ray

17 May 2007   Customer Rating :

Seems to be two different worlds in the terminals we arrived in on our two separate trips through Budapest. The first time, two years ago, we went through a very old terminal with a baggage claim area that looked like something out of a horror movie from 1900. It was just unbelievable. Then last summer we came in to a lovely terminal that was modern and lovely and light years away from the other. I'm not sure which flights go to which, but pray for the new one or you'll be sorry!

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by S Koenig

13 May 2007   Customer Rating :

We only used it for arrival (left by train) so missed seeing much of what seemed to be a smallish airport. Quickly got our luggage and passed through customs. Taxi fares into town are based on zones. Zone map shows few details, so you just realy on the person at the counter to tell you the correct fare. Trip to our hotel in Pest seemed rather long but not onerous.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Gavin Stewart

5 February 2007   Customer Rating : n/a

Ferihegy T1 terminal appears to be used by the low-cost carriers and is much smaller & quieter than T2 which (oddly enough) is the main terminal. Arrivals, spotlessly clean, quick baggage, short passport lines, smart & courteous staff. Straight into a well-managed taxi queue where uniformed staff request your destination and give you a fixed price on a ticket to hand to your driver. What a civilised system. Had no problem with "rip-off taxis", got in to centre of town for £9, how many airports let you do that??? Departures, same comments apply. Great facilities both land and air-side. Landside, you should head upstairs; terrific cafe, good coffee, fresh food, great selection, even an outdoor viewing platform (closed on my visit, don't know if this was temporary?) Still great views over the apron. Airside, more choice of cafes, good shopping, neat, tidy, small and beautifully formed. No airbridges but plane only yards away; plus nice covered steps to keep the wind off. Also T1 flights go straight out on the quieter southern runway with no queueing.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by L Johnson

22 September 2006

The airport was clean and spacious. We booked minibus return transfer to Budapest at the kiosk near the airport exit ; everyone spoke excellent English and all were efficient and friendly. Transfer to our hotel in the centre of Budapest took about 20 minutes. Our Easyjet return flight was cancelled; staff at the airport were sympathetic and helpful and managed to get us onto a flight going to Luton (it left an hour earlier than the original flight, but wrong part of the UK!).

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Stephen Fry

30 April 2006

Major changes are in the pipeline for Ferihegy. Terminals 2A and 2B are to be fused into an extended, larger building with extensions -according to BAA who just paid well over a £ 1billion for the airport. They are planning dozens of new shops and eateries, also. As well as a much needed decent car park and hotel. Plus, they have had enough of the corrupt taxi drivers and are recruiting a new firm. BAA plans to double Ferihegy's capacity to 15 million passengers in ten years. Trivia: the newly and rather tastefully refurbished old Terminal 1 is actually shaped like an aircraft if looked at from above. That's pretty neat for a building designed in the late 1930s!

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Graham Brack

2 April 2006

Nice airport, shops improved, relatively quick transit from arrival at airport to being on the plane is perfectly possible. Catering is unimaginative and next time I'll carry some extra water of my own. It was clean, signing and announcements were good and staff were respectful (unlike Gatwick). The main downside is the awful state of the road from Budapest to Ferihegy, which is being improved but badly needs it. Everything you have heard about Budapest taxi-drivers is true - our last one happily crossed the centre line and went the wrong side of an island at a traffic junction - but we have found one who drives at a sedate pace. Ferihegy is surprisingly small for a major city's main airport, but has its own charm.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by David Krabbe

15 March 2006

Ferihegy 1, the "low cost terminal" has really become quite nice. It's modern, clean, and offers good shopping and dining facilities. The renovation has been done well. Prices are acceptable, compared to the standards of other airports. Duty-Free shops are never really a bargain for anything, so if you really must buy perfumes or cigarettes, it may be a few Euros more or less than wherever you go, but I wouldn't make this an issue. Staff is friendly, and I never had to wait more than a few minutes at the passport-control or the baggage-claim. Beware of rip- off Taxi prices! Also, Taxi drivers have a scary reputation concerning their way of driving in Budapest. If you want to go to the city, the bus is the best solution, stopping right in front of the terminal and going almost every 10 minutes during peak-times.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Szeibert György

21 December 2005

Just finished a trip what was started at Budapest Ferihegy 1. This airport re-opened basically for low cost carriers. In fact Ferihegy 1 is closer to the city than 2A & 2B and still not as crowded as the other two. After check-in I have realised that no smoking area can be found at the airside. So please take this note for smokers. Also note that public transportation from all terminal is so minimal after 11 pm.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Ronny Ohlgisser

23 November 2005

I've been using this airport in the past 5 years, and I can say that it is quite a nice airport although some things can really make a person go nuts. I always fly on the same time, since I fly the same route, which is at 23:50. By the time I get to the duty free, around 22:00 all the shops, except a couple, are closed - and the ones that are still open have such high prices for goods, that is almost compelling to describe it as a crime. By looking at other opinion I can see I'm not the first one to say that, the "restaurant" area is awful. Not only that it tastes like rubber, the prices are again a crime. So for conclusion, buy and eat before you come to the airport.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Simon Wallace

11 October 2005

I have been travelling to Budapest regularly for the past 12 months and have always been a big fan of terminal 2 but as a WizzAir regular we are now relegated to the rebuilt terminal one. Arriving late on Tuesday evening the first thing that strikes you is the very long taxi after touchdown as the new (old?) terminal is right over the other side of the airport. Once you finally stop the arrivals entrance is a mere 'hop and a skip' from the front of the aircraft but do they allow you to walk it? - oh no its on to a bus where you wait for everybody to get off the plane (and actually wait for both busses to fill up rather than moving off when the first is full) before they drive you off to the end of the terminal and then all the way back again to the arrivals entrance (which was exactly opposite the aircraft). Net result, 20 minutes wasted which is not funny at 11:30 at night. I guess this should have warned me for my return trip but the check in area is far too small for the number of flights that try and leave in the morning - although the general airport area is OK they have crammed the check in desks in to an area that should be twice the size with the result that the queues all start getting in the way of each other as they have two banks of desks that are facing each other. The queue for passports and security was much longer than I am used to in Budapest (although in fairness all the booths were open) but worse was to come - the departures area. First (and a particular moan of mine) there is no smoking anywhere in the departures area (and no signs to advise that this is the case) or anywhere inside the airport come to that which is a big let down after the flexible way Terminal 2 looked after us minority. The whole departures area was very busy with not enough seating for the number of flights that were leaving mid morning and the duty free shops are very small in comparison to T2 which resulted in long queues. And then, to cap it all, having suffered the WizzAir free seating policy scramble at the gate its back on a bus out to the aircraft again for a journey that takes times as long as it would take to walk and, once again, event though the first bus was full to capacity, they still wait for everybody to board bus 2 before they will leave. On the upside its very clean and modern and tastefully refurbished although I dread to think what will happen if there are a number of major delays.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Carl Bolger

13 September 2005

Budapest Ferihegy airport was a very uncomfortable experience. I flew in and out of Terminal 2B. Having read the mostly positive reviews, I was disappointed. I couldn't fault the facilities, the clear signage, and it was modern and kept very clean. The major problem is passenger congestion - particularly in the check-in area. The area between the front doors and the check-in desks was a sea of people, despite only 4 or 5 flights being serviced at the time. This area is far too busy, and I'd hate to think what it would be like if more flights were being checked in. The duty free shop (confusingly printing prices in Euros) was also a nightmare with 2 staff at work and 2 very long queues winding their way through and outside the shop. I could not fault the staff in the shop who were very friendly. On my arrival into Ferihegy, our bags took an age to appear despite only travelling a short distance between the aircraft and reclaim belt. Budapest is a truly fantastic city. Just avoid the airport at peak times.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Hegedus Gabor

19 August 2005

Terminal 2B is overcrowded all the time as rebuilding of term 1 not yet competed, so low-cost carriers are using same facilities. Never fly on Sunday - average waiting time for check- in, immigration and security more than 60 mins. Employees suffer the most, as airconditioning system can not cope the demand on the hot days.as a weekly traveller I have experienced both face of the airport.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Peter Nyitrai

9 August 2005

As a local arriving home late nights I never found the luggage handling efficient. It might be because one reaches the belts about 5 mins after landing unlike at major ports where a never ending maze leads to the baggage area. On the plus side it is clean, modern and well equipped with free showering opportunity for those left there in transit. They should do something about the transportation to and from the airport as well as the ovewhelming crowed that fills the building every morning between 6 and 9 am.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Simon Wallace

18 May 2005

Very modern and very clean and any airport where you can be off the plane without luggage and into a taxi within 10 minutes has got to be a winner - I have nothing but praise for it when I have arrived either at midday or midnight. Security on the outbound flight has always been very quick - much better than the half an hour queue at Luton to be searched. And as a smoker - smoking areas as soon as you walk into the arrivals area is a major plus!

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Szabolcs Mihalyi

13 April 2005

I was transiting in Budapest (Terminal 2A, as flying Malev) a few weeks back. Arriving as a transit passenger, you are disembarking in to a arrival hall, from where you proceed directly towards security and upstairs to the passport control before entering the transit area, where you can check in immediately for your onward flight. In my case all the three procedures (incl. some queuing of course) were done within not more than 10 minutes, despite travelling on a rather busy day (Easter sunday). I agree with all the other positive comments about the the transit area being bright and clearly arranged. However, I also agree that the infamous and overpriced "Sbarro"-restaurant is to be avoided. Airport/Airline staff was friendly and helpful, however I might have some major advantage: I speak fluent Hungarian.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Sasun Vartanyan

9 March 2005

Very convenient and fast processing airport. Transportation to the hotels and/or other locations, easily available.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Paul Whiten

25 February 2005

Visited Ferihegy few weeks ago (feb 2005). Prices in duty free shop also in forints. Bus to Budapest just outside for the more adventurous person. Takes you to edge of Budapest and from there on to metro blue line. Cost for bus approx - UK 50p. Cost for metro approx - UK 50p. Airport clean - very clean!

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Christian Hodson

24 February 2005

As far as Eastern European airports go Budapest Ferihegy is as nice an airport as any - it is not too big so getting lost or having long walks to the boarding gates is not an issue - the baggage reclaim on my arrival was probably the most efficient that I have experienced, the only airport being as quick as this for me would have been somewhere like Singapore's Changi airport - the only drawback is the high transfer costs ( taxi / minibus etc. ) into Budapest city centre - I would say that the airport is very similar to Prague but is a bit more modern.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Robert Smith

18 August  2004

One of the best airports I've flown from. Its clean, bright, very modern and the staff are friendly. Its not large so it is easy to get around but it doesn't feel cramped either. Similar to Copenhagen and Münich's airports.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Mira Raikkonen

11 March 2004

Ferihegy airport can boast having the worst ever "restaurant" (Sbarro). I have travelled a lot, seen a lot of airports and have never had a worse meal. The airport staff wasn't helpful or friendly either, so my stopover was all but nice. Though I must admit that the renovations have made 2A a lot nicer. I'm looking forward to seeing if anything has changed as I'm having a stop over at Ferihegy again in a few weeks.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Henn Kärest

27 October 2003

Even though the land is flat, the surrounding hills and the evergreen forest nearby makes this airport outstandingly nice. I'd say it is as wonderful as Innsbruck. Those of you who have plenty of time to spend here should go to the obs. terrace - the planes are very close and almost in level. Be careful when buying your ticket cause the two terraces on T2A and T2B are not connected. So if you are looking for MALÉV planes then you'd better choose terminal 2A's terrace.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Malcolm Purdom

20 September 2003

Budapest Duty Free Shop displays all prices in Euros but fails to also display in Forint. This causes confusion. Hungary is not in the EU yet and most recent 'first time' people must be totally unaware of this situation.

Editor Note: BUD has always chosen different currency format for this shop - before the Euro, I remember their prices were always displayed and quoted in deutchmarks.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by M Devor

2 June 2003

Very modern and clean. I love that it is non-Schengen so can easily make connections. English is well spoken and staff are friendly. They have a good airport to city shuttle service, much cheaper than a taxi and often we were the only ones onboard and so straight to the hotel in Budapest. If you do take a taxi from Ferihegi, the rates from the airport are fixed. They do need a major hotel at the airport.

Budapest Ferihegy Airport review by Luigi Vallero

9 May 2003

The Terminal 2 at Ferihegy is nice looking, very modern and clean with a style reminiscent of Munich airport. I found it very easy to navigate, although the fact that the currently ongoing works in Terminal 2A are sensibly reducing the overall capacity. Good selection of shops and facilities: pity that it seems eating facilities have all been contracted to a single supplier (Sbarro, the "Italian" eatery). Overall a very good airport.