Local services
In September, a new managing director was appointed to head Debrecen International Airport Ltd., which operates the Debrecen airport. Ernő Györke spoke to Világgazdaság (Hungarian business online newspaper) for the first time in this position.
As he said,” this year passenger traffic is expected to be the same as last year, so they are counting on a little more than 300 thousand people. The number of weekly flights has increased for several airlines, but the reduction in capacity at Wizz Air is offsetting this”.
The CEO says that passenger traffic is expected to decrease in the short term, but there is a definite plan to put it back on a growth path as soon as possible adding that in the coming period, with the support of the Ministry of National Economy, by developing an even more intensive strategy, the goal is to restore flights and passenger numbers to pre-pandemic levels as soon as possible. As part of this, we are working to restore the flights sought by the population of the region and the companies located here to the airport’s offer.
According to Mayor László Papp’s recent similar statement, the airport is still considered a strategic element of the city’s development. Until the arrival of Covid, growth was dynamic, which changed many things. The main transport partner, WizzAir, is also struggling with serious challenges and has made decisions that adversely affect Debrecen.”It’s not a charity programme, it’s numbers that count.”
He added that they are working together with the government and the Ministry of National Economy to strengthen traffic, even by involving new airlines. They see those strategic cities and destinations where Debrecen flights could be successfully operated. Moreover, freight transport is also a possible option, it can be an important element of successful operation.
A Boeing 757 aircraft, the first cargo flight from China has arrived, carrying 30 tonnes of e-commerce goods. The flight will operate four times a week between the two destinations from next week, according to Ernő Györke.
The CEO predicts successful flights from Debrecen with new airlines and is working on opening up to other markets, despite longer processes in passenger transport.
Ernő Györke highlighted recent airport developments but stressed the need for urgent renovation of the runway and air traffic infrastructure, as they are approaching the end of their planned lifespan adding that the ongoing inspection of paved surfaces and correction of defects are being implemented, along with preventive measures, following the summer runway failure.
Their intention is to expand both the summer and winter flight offer at the airport and to reduce the change in the offer due to seasonality. As in tourism, they also want to achieve a long peak season for Debrecen Airport.The goal is to enhance the summer and winter flight offerings at Debrecen Airport, minimise seasonal fluctuations, and achieve a long peak season in tourism.
He emphasised the aim of the Ministry of National Economy and Debrecen for the airport to become the region’s leading airport in passenger and freight transport in the medium term.
Source and photo credit:dehir.hu
