Neither the macroeconomic environment nor the spectacularly improving performance of Budapest Airport favors the government, and especially Viktor Orbán’s plan to buy back the company operating Ferihegy Airport. It looks very like the prime minister who unveiled the government on Tuesday missed that plane, but at least it is highly doubtful that he will achieve it.

An important element of the tightening that appears to be approaching may be that certain capital-intensive investments are either postponed or abandoned. BA’s takeover is likely to do so, as industry sources said it could have been € 4.5 billion in the last half a year ago, although neither party has confirmed this. Even a multi-year postponement and a complete setback is in the deck if you take seriously the dramatic forecast for the next many years that the Prime Minister outlined the other day. He was already considered too expensive by Governor György Matolcsy and risky because of his foreign currency loan.

Another factor that may strongly reflect on the background coordinating the head of the government and its repurchase preparations is that BA Zrt. Has been on an improving path for a year and a half last year. it could raise the purchase price, which could hurt Viktor Orbán.

The company told our newspaper that it had a net revenue of € 143.3 million in 2021, which is 21 years old, or € 25 million more than in 2020. The loss was further carved by € 22 million, bringing it to € 87.6 million at the end of last year.

Last year, airline capacity and airport traffic continued to recover, but passenger numbers were still far below 2019 levels. In the field of air transport, however, the volume of cargo has escaped to unprecedented heights, the best mode of transport is fast, predictable and safe. The operator was also able to make up some of the lost revenue from real estate revenues from stable tenants operating independently of the number of passengers, which includes aircraft maintenance companies and integrators. This has demonstrated the strength and importance of the airport’s diversification strategy in recent years.

Last year, Budapest Airport spent EUR 36.6 million on improvements, exceeding the capacity expansion, infrastructure and sustainability investments made in the last three years, and raising employee wages by an average of 13 from March 2022. The company has also begun preparations for the reopening of Terminal 1 and the construction of the new Terminal 3. The total value of the two investments will be € 1 billion.

It can also be seen as a kind of message that it was highlighted in a statement about last year’s financial year: the company is constantly managing responsibly and the owners are still strong in capital.

Regarding the financial results, Chris Dinsdale, CEO of Budapest Airport, highlighted:

“We are proud to have been able to weather our second pandemic year without state support and to continue to develop at a dynamic pace without any difficulty. We have been preparing for the recovery for months, both in terms of human resources and capacity, and I am confident that in 2022 we will approach our 2019 results in terms of passenger traffic and thus revenues. ”

Neither the previous loss-making years nor the second year of the virus epidemic could shake the stability of Budapest Airport. The company has also been able to maintain the continuous and safe operation of the airport due to the significant loss of traffic over the past two years and the significant loss of revenue, and has created the financial, personnel and infrastructural conditions necessary for the recovery, they said.