[8] In 2012 it experienced a significant drop in aircraft movements and handled cargo, primarily due to the collapse of Malév Hungarian Airlines earlier in the year, hence lost a large portion of connecting passengers.

The name is derived from that of Ferenc Xavér Mayerffy (1776–1845), the former owner of an estate who established vineyards and contributed to the development of viticulture in Pest-Buda.

In fact, the area is almost totally flat; but originally there was a 147 m high sandy hillock which was levelled in the 1940s during the construction of the airport.

[6] In December 1939, upon an announcement of the results of the tender invited in September that year, the designs of Károly Dávid Jr. (1903–1973) were chosen.

The designer, who was one of the originators of modern Hungarian architectural art, dreamt of a building which resembled an aircraft from the top-side view.

To approach the airport from the city, a 16-kilometre (10 mi) high-speed road was constructed between 1940 and 1943, which, after improvements, remains in use today.

[citation needed] Since 1 November 1985, passengers have been received in Terminal 2, a 24,000-square-meter facility funded with Austrian loans under general contracting.

[citation needed] There was an IED bus attack against Russian Jewish emigrants on the road leading to Ferihegy in the early 1990s.

[12][13] According to the traffic figures forecast for the millennium, the two terminals serving 4 million passengers a year promised to be insufficient.

[14] On 8 December 2005, a 75% stake in Ferihegy Airport was bought by BAA plc for 464.5 billion HUF (approx.

[citation needed] The designers, contractors, builders and investors (the latter being BA) received the joint award of the European Commission and of the pan-European heritage preservation organisation Europa Nostra for the renovation of the protected monument spaces, the central hall, the gallery and the furniture at T1.

[15] On 26 July 2010, after completing a security oversight investigation in May,[16] the EU authorities revoked Budapest Airport's official "Schengen Clear" certification, due to serious lapses observed in personal security check procedures and unauthorised passing of banned objects.

The airport argued that it had not yet had time to fully implement new security measures introduced on 29 April 2010, and inspired by the Delta Air Lines' Amsterdam "underwear bomb scare" incident.

(Hungarian state news agency MTI reports: [2] [permanent dead link‍]) In response, additional security measures were immediately implemented at Budapest Airport causing flight delays at both terminals.

Unusually long passenger waiting queues were observed at the busier 2A-B terminal complex's departures area.

[2] Sky Court, the new expansion project including shops, restaurants and lounges, also connecting Terminals 2A and 2B was opened on 27 March 2011.

Ryanair began selling the flight tickets to the public, but Budapest airport said that the company had not secured all of the necessary slots (which were later negotiated successfully).

Several of these future projects[clarification needed] involve about further 300 million euros, and depend on regulatory decisions as well as third-party investors.

[27] Since 2011, several projects have been completed, including the refurbishment of Terminals 2A and 2B with the inauguration of the Skycourt main departures hall in 2012 and an extension of Terminal 2B in 2018,[28] the construction of a new business and cargo area called Budapest Airport Business Park[29][30] as well as a new airport hotel[31] and expanded car parking facilities.

[citation needed] In 2018, LOT Polish Airlines made Budapest their first hub outside Poland, launching with year-round flights to New York-JFK and Chicago-ORD.

[33] In 2020, according to a report from Bloomberg, the Hungarian government was looking at buying the airport from its foreign owners such as GIC (Singaporean sovereign wealth fund) and Canadian AviAlliance.

[38] Mate Loga, State Secretary for Economic Strategy was appointed to be the Chairman of Budapest Airport, while Francois Bérisot serves as CEO now.

The airport's passenger buildings consist of four main areas: From 1 September 2005, re-opened Terminal 1 served low-cost carriers.

[39] Being located within the premises of Budapest, it offers faster public transport time to the city centre, compared to the Terminal 2 about 3 kilometres farther.

The pier was planned to offer flexibility for traditional and low-cost airlines with boarding options via jetbridges, buses or walking directly to the aircraft.

As of September 2024, the following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter services to and from Budapest Ferenc Liszt Airport:[42] Budapesti Közlekedési Központ (BKK), the public transit authority for Budapest, operates two major express bus services to the airport: 100E and 200E.

Flixbus operates long-distance routes from the airport to numerous Central European cities, including Prague, Vienna, Timișoara, and Sibiu.

Trips into the city center from Ferihegy station take approximately 25 minutes, but service is infrequent.

Ferihegy station formerly served the airport's Terminal 1, which no longer hosts passenger air services.

Other shuttles and coach services exist to outlying towns in Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Serbia.