Lufthansa is planning to operate a Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft on the route, which is the only new destination planned by Lufthansa in the region for 2016, Kisch said.

Head of Lufthansaʼs operations in Hungary Gábor Antal said the load factor is expected to come in at around 50%, with more German passengers than Hungarians. Antal noted that the airlines of Lufthansa Group – Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, Germanwings/Eurowings – have so far transported a record number of more than one million passengers to and from Hungary in January-September, up 7% from the same period a year earlier.

Debrecen Airport has spent approximately HUF 7 billion on developments in recent years, mayor László Papp said. During these years, the number of passengers has grown tenfold, and with the expected reach of 180,000 this year, 2016 could see double that number, the mayor added.