Noise, unions pose new threats to Budapest airport

Having just been stung by a decision by regional budget airline SkyEurope to cease operations in Hungary, Budapest's Ferihegy airport is facing two new challenges.

At a conference this week on noise protection guidelines, József Vágó, air traffic director of the National Traffic Office, said that airlines using Ferihegy may face large fines if they continue to violate the noise-free "corridors" established over nearby inhabited areas.

The airport's operator, Budapest Airport (BA), has launched programs aimed at reducing the harmful effect of noise caused by aircraft passing over residential areas surrounding the airport, announced Reinhard Kalenda, CEO of BA. A new engine testing hangar will be built by 2009, and a new noise wall is under construction near Terminal 1. But Kalenda stressed that banning air traffic completely between midnight and 5 a.m. would be an overreaction to the problem.

Meanwhile, one of the unions representing workers at the airport reported that a malfunctioning piece of equipment at Ferihegy was threatening the safety of aircraft landing there. The fault apparently makes measuring wind speed unreliable. The union listed a number of instances of landings that were unsafe as a result, including an incident involving a GermanWings plane on Saturday in which the pilot made two attempts to land, after deeming the conditions unsafe the first time around.

The claims of the union were rejected by officials of state air traffic controller Hungarocontrol Zrt, which said it had reliable data.

• Email
• Save to My Caboodle