Budapest Ferihegy Airport

The No Entry or No Stop restriction at the arrival curbside of Ferihegy 1 and 2 airports is below any international standard of civilised travel. As a result arriving traffic has moved up to the 2A/2B Departure curbside making departure twice as congested as it should be. The overpriced parking lots are empty so are the overpriced taxis (parking without passengers) in the arrival area.

Booked with Malev AMS-BUD-IST with a transfer time of 45 minutes far too short. A very long line-up to exit the EU with few customs officials impossible! Several people missed their connecting flight. Very frustrating and inefficient system. Officials unable to help those who were missing their connecting flights. Beware while traveling through BUD on a short transfer!

Arrived at this airport from Amsterdam. I was in the city within 90 minutes from the time of arrival. Staff at information counter not friendly and not happy with the job she is doing. The public transportation from or to the city was average but worked fine. I bought the 72 hours travel card (works on metro trams and buses) from the airport's post-office. The cheapest way to get to the city is by bus 200E from the arrival bay to the nearest metro station Station Kobanya-Kispest (M3) on the blue line. On the departure day at Terminal 2 Malev check-in agent and BUD's KLM staff were both polite and helpful. From check-in counter until clearing the security check point took less than 15 minutes although the airport had a busy period in the afternoon. Did not make any buying at the duty-free outlet due to tight waiting time for my departure. The airport seems clean. The only complaint is the airport has insufficient seating at departure area.

Terminal 2 for transferring. Nice and clean airport. Because of change between Schengen and non-Schengen area a brisk walk from one wing of the terminal to another but not really a problem after just sitting in the airplane. Going out from Schengen there is no safety check coming inside there is. Restrooms a bit hard to find.

Very new and bright at departure area but the arrival area is really dark and dated. Bus door to door service is really good with reasonable price. Security staff are not friendly not pleasant experience. They are trying to improve the services but still long way to go.

I was pleasantly surprised : no queues at check in no queues at security. As regards arrivals nothing changed yet but everything worked properly. Overall a very pleasant experience.

Arrival into terminal 2B is great - departure is another thing. Check in is a bit of a mess with the counters being opened two hours before hand and no real queue system in place. Security is very thorough - I was practically stripped searched - but no real problems - something you have to put up with these days. Biggest problem is signage - or lack of. Trying to get your tax back is fun and you need a lot of patience. Otherwise not a bad airport some good food places but on the steep side.

If you are flying with a no frills airline chances are you'll be using Terminal 1. This is a very cramped terminal and you really don't want to be spending much time here. Having said that the Duty Free shop is fine and for the smokers you'll be able to stock up on very low priced cigarettes. The terminal is very stuffy and far too warm but you will find two refreshment areas.

Taxis to/from airport very expensive public transport difficult. Travelling with pushchair in Budapest is a nightmare guess this is true for wheelchair users to. Baby changing facilities are rubbish : one table one mat and one chair. No picures or colours on the wall no toys. Cleanliness is ok. Restaurants are expensive. T1 (Low cow cost airlines) Spent 45 minutes queing at check in. Getting through the gate was not difficult as we got priority with the baby. T2 (other airlines) A town called Vecsas is close so anyone can do a late shopping (pharmacy shops). Arriving is much smoother and faster no hassle and queue at passport check.

You need to arrive at least 2 hours in advance 3 if you like to be on the safe side. This airport is much too small (extension works on-going). There are only 5 booths open for all Malev Economy flights and the queue is terrible. They urge you to use the self-checking screens but you have to queue anyway to leave your luggage. Attendants do their best. When you are at least out of this queue you are in for a second one for the safety check which is aslo vastly undersized. Not much in term of shops or drinking/eating. The number of seats available at the gates is ridiculous. then you have the luck to board by Bus. I hope their future extension will be well designed because for the time being it is not an airport you want to use.