Budapest Ferihegy Airport

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.

There were incredible queues at check-in and even longer ones at security check. We spent an hour and a half in the queue to pass the security checks without any kind of order. Moreover the staff at security check rude and hardly communicate in English. We really feel treated more like animals than as people.

This airport is a nightmare both at check in and security. It took us 2 hours and this only because we sneaked under the barriers to avoid missing our flight which as it happened was delayed by over an hour anyway. Avoid if at all possible.

This airport has been downgraded by EU authorities because of security issues. Had to wait long for Star Alliance check-in (I had my sport bike). Schengen terminal 2 only 1 x-ray machine attended with enormous queuing. BUD-FRA-BRU in FRA they made again a full security check even checked my shoes and said Budapest now is a 3rd world airport sorry for inconvenience. So stressful and quite abusing.

Arrival at Ferihegy is a bit deceiving. The direct train to the city is a joke the station lies in the vicinity of low-cost Terminal 1 while most of passengers arrive at Terminal 2 which is connected with T1 and the railway station by public road usually congested with urban traffic. At the remote railway stop there are no amenities for disabled passengers and no information at all. The real nightmare is the departure and transit. Taken into account incredible queues at check-in and then even longer queues at security check you should come to the airport well ahead the time the airlines suggest. Staff at security check is harsh and rude and hardly communicate in English. Due to the lack of space and insufficient number of gates in the Schengen terminal the crowds of passengers make it difficult to move not to say about places to seat. The only positive thing you see are the posters and leaflets saying how wonderful spacious and friendly the airport will be in future when the construction of new terminal is completed.

Arrived at the airport terminal 2A and got a shock to see the unbelievable huge crowd at Star Alliance check-in. The end of the row was at the entrance of the airport. Seems LH and AUA don't really care of this situation weeks ago I was waiting 25 minutes for drop-off in the same time. I will think twice to use Swiss if check-in will be pooling into a big maze. Security improved a lot not waiting for long and they were friendly. Airside hard to find any free place to sit down on that Saturday afternoon restroom was clean. Many announcements were not clearly understandable thus I nearly miss my flight.

T2B. Prompt passport control (non-EU national) but baggage was slow. Travelling out : a 15min BA check-in queue but aggravated by 20 minutes to get through a crowded security area. The extension of T2 now underway is well overdue. In terms of landside access a ticket for the 200E bus can be purchased from the newsagents but to get a 3day or 7day pass you need to get to the underground station at Kobanya-Kispet. This is a nuisance as it should be possible to get these tickets at the airport. However can recommend the hotel shuttle service for timeliness and value-for-money.

I have just had enough of the way check-in staff feel they can treat passengers at Ferihegy. I am not sure why repeatedly I get talked at as if I am an unwelcome alien. The only time I saw any personnel smile was when security found a jar of Slovak mustard and lobbed it into the bin happily. While I don`t object to this being termed a liquid if it must be I was rather surprised to say the least to hear the security guard a woman make a negative remark about me in Hungarian assuming I could not understand I think. I'll be flying into another airport when going back to Hungary.