Budapest Airport optimistic despite 11% pax decilne in 1H2012 following Malev collapse

Hungary's Budapest Airport stated (02-Aug-2012) it remains "optimistic" despite reporting an 11% year-on-year decline in passenger numbers for the first six months of 2012 following the collapse of Malev in Feb-2012. Budapest Airport aviation director Kam Jandu stated, "the void left by Malev offered numerous business opportunities for carriers both flying into or establishing bases at Budapest", with the airport having now recovered 80% of the point-to-point traffic previously handled by Malev. Load factor on services from Budapest also increased 3.8 ppts to 72.1% in 1H2012. The airport welcomed six new airlines in 1H2012, adding 13 new destinations. [more - original PR]