12.10.2006
Low-price boom for Budapest

Budapest is a travel destination whose popularity is on the rise. Last year, the number of passengers on the route between Copenhagen and the Hungarian capital was record-high, and the strong upward trend is continuing this year, according to new figures from Copenhagen Airport.

In the first nine months of 2006, more than 160,000 passengers journeyed between Copenhagen and Budapest, i.e. 25 per cent more than during the same period last year.

The number of passengers on the route has been on the rise since 2003, but really took off as a result of last year's entry onto the market by Sterling and SkyEuropa, the two low-cost airlines currently competing with SAS and Malev on the route. The larger number of inexpensive tickets on the market resulted in 30 per cent more passengers in 2005 than in 2004, with a total of 171,000 flying between Copenhagen and Budapest last year.

"Budapest is a popular urban holiday destination. Just as we've seen it happen with other routes, more cheap tickets on the market mean even more passengers that decide to buy them," says Corinna Lundbæk Pedersen, a department head with Copenhagen Airports A/S.

Photo: Hungarian Tourism Office