Budapest Ferihegy Airport

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.

Passed through BUD Terminal 2B 12 times in the last half year. Check-in usually takes a bit of time and can be extremely crowded so it is good to be there 90 minutes before your flight - except if you have already checked in online. Check-in staff not especially nice or helpful. There is only 4 check-in machine for Malev flights however this is their main hub and those machines are usually out of order or frozen for several minutes. Passing security takes time and they can also be rude. The airside is crowded with good facilities but only a few place to sit - let's hope that this will change with the current enlargement of the terminals. After boarding at peak times we often had to wait 5-10 minutes for the personnel of the airport to push back the plane from the standing position: there is not much capacity reserve for this at BUD. When arriving getting your luggage can take 5 minutes as well as 25 you should just cross your fingers and wait. I miss a central screen in the baggage reclaim area which would show which flight is delivered on which belt.

Terminal 2B. Arrival waited 20 minutes for baggage but apart from that quickly through immigration. Departure check in area very crowded but checked in took about 10 minutes through security in 5 minute. Departure lounge good with good food outlets.