City in southern Hungary wants to sell its costly airport

Leaders in the city of Pécs in southern Hungary have decided to sell or rent the airport it built three years ago because they believe an investor could better maintain it, reports radio.hu.

Operating the airport has proved too difficult and costly. The city has spent a total of Ft 5.5 billion (over €22 million) on the airport.

Two foreign companies and one Hungarian company have expressed interest in taking it over.

"They are involved in aviation, and two of them don't only think about Pécs, but are also planning several such investments in the Southeastern-Central European region," said Mayor Péter Tasnádi.

No other details have been revealed about the interested investors or how much they are offering for the airport. Tasnádi said he hopes a deal will be completed by the end of the year.

Tasnádi also said the city is planning a Ft 2 billion project to extend the 1.5-kilometer runways so the airport can accommodate budget airlines by the year 2010.

The airport currently services two flights a week to Corfu, Greece, and scheduled flights from Germany. Private business travel also is substantial.

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