Wizz Air Is Hungary’s de facto national airline – said Váradi József, CEO of the regional low-cost airline, during the formal opening of the new hangar on Ferihegy. The building cost almost one billion HUF, has an area of 2000 m2 and will serve as Wizz Air’s repairer base. The number of their planes stationed in Budapest has grown to ten.
The CEO’s words make sense; the hangar was built by Budapest Airport, with the contribution of the Market Ltd. which is tied to PM Viktor Orbán’s friend, István Garancsi. Wizz Air will lease the building in the next fifteen years, so the technicians of Lufthansa Technik will be able to make repairs on the Airbus A320 and the A321s; the latter can carry 50 more persons than the previous model.
The new planes will first fly on the Budapest–London Luton route and they will later be connected to Brussels, Eindhoven and Istanbul. It was crucial for Wizz Air to build a new hangar as it is obvious that they intend to increase their presence in the country. It was announced yesterday that the number of their planes stationed in Budapest has grown to ten.
Miklós Seszták, Minister of National Development represented the Hungarian Government instead of Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Seszták emphasized how important it is for Hungary to have a high-standard and reliable airline in the international sphere. It is incredible good news for the experts of air transportation as this was the first time a minister acknowledged its importance since 2012, when the government let Hungary’s national airline, Malév, broke.
The Wizz Air Hungary Ltd. had a €1.309 million income (almost 400 billion HUF) in the latest business year, which ended in March. The company is owned by the Wizz Air Holding, which is registered in the Island of Jersey and its revenue was almost €200 million, or 60 billion HUF. The airline flies under Hungarian registration and pays most of its taxes to Hungary, except for the corporation tax which is paid to Switzerland.
based on an article of nol.hu
translated by Adrienn Sain
Photo: MTI