According to BUD, less than 10% (52) of the more than 550 airports participating in the assessment have achieved this level. Ferenc Liszt International is the first in the Central European region.
The ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation is the only global, institutionally approved program assessing the carbon emissions of the world’s airports, ranking them on a scale of one to five.
The 4+ “Transition” rating confirms that the airport fully offsets direct carbon emissions from its operations and is working with its partners to reduce indirect emissions. BUD says it has set a long-term absolute emissions reduction target, developed a stakeholder partnership scheme and established a Carbon Management Plan in line with Paris Agreement targets, including a reduction pathway to achieving these targets.
The operator says it has added new elements to the measurement of indirect carbon emissions from the activities of companies operating at Budapest Airport, in addition to reducing its own emissions.
This includes taking into account information on the materials used for de-icing aircraft, roads, taxiways, and aprons, the amount of fuel used by subcontractors during construction and development works, and the routes and the treatment of waste and wastewater.
Measurements also include the total amount of fuel supplied to airlines and mapping the commuting habits of airport staff. The resulting comprehensive analysis will help Budapest Airport further reduce its environmental impact, together with its partners, and achieve the net zero emissions target set by ACI by 2035.
“As a responsible airport operator, we are convinced that rapid action is needed to protect the environment and integrate sustainable practices into our daily operations,” says Kam Jandu, CEO of Budapest Airport.
“Achieving level 4+ “Transition” confirms that, with a consistent strategy, combined with a passionate and knowledgeable team, the airport is able to fulfill its essential operations in a more sustainable way. The next step will be to achieve ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation level 5, which will mean attaining net zero emissions, and we aim to realize this by 2035 at the latest,” Jandu adds.
Budapest Airport says it is continuously expanding its fleet of electric vehicles and developing its e-charging infrastructure, encouraging its partner companies to take up e-mobility. Some 96 charging points are available for EVs, and more than 130 units of electric ground service equipment are already performing their tasks at the airport daily.
EV charging is also available for passengers; there are already 35 charging points in public car parks. From January 2023, 100% of the airport’s total electricity consumption is covered by renewable energy sources, and work is underway to develop a 7.5 MW solar farm and to prepare the development of a geothermal heating system for the airport.
To date, the company says it has reduced its direct carbon emissions by more than 70% over the last 10 years and has also performed exceptionally well in waste management, recycling 73% of its municipal and packaging waste in 2023, more than double the rate of the population. The company also reduced its natural gas consumption by 22% in one year.
Olivier Jankovec, the director general of ACI Europe, emphasized: “BUD is the first airport in Central Europe to reach this level of carbon management maturity, and […] the airport is also clearly a leader in terms of climate action at a global level. Hats off to the entire team for this significant achievement.”
Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, said there was “full agreement” among the parties involved in the state’s planned purchase of Budapest Airport, fielding questions at a regular press briefing on April 25, according to state news agency MTI. As there are many players involved, as well as the matter of “complicated corporate protocols,” bringing the transaction to a close could take “some days, weeks or possibly months, but let’s hope it’s rather days or weeks,” Gulyás said. Hungary’s government has raised hundreds of millions of euros from the sale of state assets to finance the purchase of a controlling stake in Budapest Airport. The European Commission authorized the acquisition by state-owned Corvinus International Investment and France’s Vinci Airports in December.
Three new flights will be launched between Hungary and China this summer, meaning seven major Chinese cities will be directly accessible from Budapest, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced in Beijing on April 24, according to index.hu. The minister said the twice-a-week flights land in Shenzhen, in the southern Guangdong Province. “This means that, from June onwards, seven Chinese cities will be accessible by direct flights from Budapest, increasing the number of flights to 19 per week, which is one and a half times more than before COVID and much more than any other Central European airport or city,” the minister pointed out. On April 23, Szijjártó announced that Xi’an, which has a population of around 13 million and is the capital of the northwestern Shaanxi Province, would also be directly accessible from Budapest, according to origo.hu. Direct Budapest flights already operate to Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Ningbo, while a fifth connecting the capital with Guangzhou will also launch in June.
In March, 1,296,509 passengers used Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport, 21.7% more than in the same period last year and 10.5% more than in March 2019, operator Budapest Airport announced. The airport handled more than 3.4 million passengers in Q1, exceeding the record year before the pandemic by 10.2%. The increase in passenger numbers is slightly ahead of the company’s forecast that total annual passenger traffic will easily surpass the previous record of 16.2 million by the end of 2024. The airport also handled 23,720 tonnes of air cargo in March, 40.7% more than in March 2023, exceeding the strongest month ever for cargo, November 2023, when 22,206 tonnes of cargo was processed. A total of 61,940 tonnes of cargo was handled at Budapest Airport in the first quarter of 2024, 39.6% more than in the same period last year. The airport is forecast to handle up to 240,000 tonnes of cargo by the end of the year, marking another record year.
This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of May 6, 2024.
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