Three airports to operate in 60-kilometer range in Hungary

Three airports will operate in a 60-kilometer area near Lake Balaton once plans to open the Taszár air base and reopen Siófok's Kiliti Airport are realized. The lakeside town of Siófok (Somogy County) would reopen the Kiliti Airport this summer, and the Taszár air base located near Kaposvár is also likely to be opened soon. The third airport in the area is Sármellék's (Zala County) FlyBalaton Airport.

According to Népszabadság, the government of Siófok recently reached an agreement with the Treasury Asset Directorate (KVI) about the town's purchase of the Kiliti Airport for Ft 208 million (€820,000). The government will open bidding for the operation of the airport within two weeks, and it is expected to reopen after two years by this May or June.

The opening of the Taszár airport, currently owned by the Hungarian government, is expected to happen later, as preparations for an international, two-round, open bidding to sell and utilize the airport are currently underway. The Taszár airport was used by the United States as a military air base between 1995 and 2004.

Siófok Mayor Árpád Balázs is not worried about the closeness of the three airports, because they are all different in size. The Kiliti Airport will serve small, 20 to 30-seat planes.

Lajos Palkó, marketing director of the FlyBalaton Airport, agrees. He does not think that the Kiliti airport will create competition for them, adding that it might even increase traffic in Sármellék, as the opening of new airports usually makes a whole region better known to tourists. He also said that the considerably bigger Taszár airport could be a competitor, however, FlyBalaton enjoys the advantage of having better infrastructure, popularity, and the closeness of Lake Balaton and bath resorts.

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