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Chris Dinsdale’s remarks

“’The two most powerful warriors are patience and time,’ writes Lev Tolstoy in War and Peace.

Well, we have indeed started the New Year in that spirit. Many say that 2022 will be a year of creative power, full of positive energy and the power of change. One thing is for sure, we are already feeling this. A new year has begun, with new opportunities, new goals and new ideas to be implemented.

I feel that 2022 is the time for Budapest Airport. For a company that is committed to working every day to make Ferenc Liszt International Airport, or should I say The Airport, a worthy national gateway for passengers arriving and departing from Hungary. Even though the pandemic has been decimating our passenger traffic (and thus, unfortunately, our financial position as well) for more than two years, this period has taught us a lot.

First and foremost, patience. When I look out of my office window, I can still see a huge number of aircraft parked here, still grounded by the pandemic. It is not easy to see the positives in this sight, it is not easy to remain optimistic. Yet the team that manages the airport today worked every single day last year and the one before to ensure that we emerge from this crisis with sustainable growth, as quickly as possible. In 2021, we were named the best airport in the region for the eighth time, we were accredited carbon neutral for the fourth time, we achieved the best passenger satisfaction results compared to our competitors, we were named the most attractive employer in the service sector and we won the Oscar of the PR industry with our installation made for the airport’s seventieth birthday. Despite the pandemic, we have managed to rebuild more than half of our earlier 2019 monthly traffic, with 80% of destinations now available from Budapest again, with the addition of some new ones. So, when I look out of my office window, I am fortunately greeted by the sight of more and more aircraft taking off, which ultimately gives us a sense of optimism as we start this year.

But we also used the other “warrior,” time. We didn’t waste a minute last year, and I’m grateful that the slowing traffic gave us a chance for self-assessment and planning. For introspection. What we have to take stock of and what we have to do in the coming years. We have completely rewritten the airport’s strategy, which will define our development and developments over the next 5 years. We have produced a rich plan that reflects the determination and the ambition of all of the company’s employees. We have laid the foundation that will determine our actions in the period ahead, and we have also drawn up a precise map, showing the successive steps along the way. From 1 January, we follow this map from milestone to milestone, with full speed and vigor. This will not only help us to find our way in the good times, but will come in particularly handy if we are again caught in a storm – and not just because of the fifth wave of the pandemic.

I would like to highlight three very important strategic pillars – quality, capacity development and sustainability. All three will be with us in the decades to come, even more than before. In three years, we have spent more than 70 billion HUF on airport developments, which means an average of 2 billion HUF per month. This dynamic development – and the qualitative leap that goes with it – will continue to gain pace and will characterize our airport even more in the years ahead, as we will reopen Terminal 1 and start the construction of Terminal 3. We are doing all this while continuously reducing the airport’s carbon footprint. We would like to achieve net zero emissions by no later than 2035, having already halved our direct carbon-dioxide emissions and reduced emissions per passenger to a third in ten years.

And why are we doing all this? Well, the answer is simple. For even greater passenger satisfaction, higher quality, for our sustainable operations and respect for the environment.

These are ambitious plans; I wish us all the strength and perseverance to see them through, and to continue to be a proud gateway for the world to explore all that Hungary has to offer, and for Hungary to explore the world. Let’s make 2022 a memorable year!

WE are BUD”