On 15 July 1985, several newspapers as well as national TV sent their correspondents to the airport, and hundreds were swarming on the observation deck to catch a glimpse of Lufthansa’s aircraft with the registration mark D-ABYP, the very first Jumbo to land at Ferihegy. It was a historic moment for the airport, just before the important milestone of its modernization, with the opening of Terminal 2 which was scheduled for a few months later. Budapest Airport was then put on the global map of first class airports.

In the first few years to follow, Jumbo Jets were a rare sight here, but in the course of the last decade, 747s have been landing at Ferihegy almost every day. It is primarily the courier and air cargo operators as well as charter operators whose big birds arrive here regularly, and sometimes diversion flights of Jumbos also choose Ferihegy. The Jumbo weighs several hundred tons, and it is the biggest aircraft type coming to Budapest on a regular basis. The spectacle of this aircraft of extraordinary dimensions landing and taking off on the runways of Ferihegy is still breathtaking every time.

The Boeing 747 is one of the best-known types globally. Hundreds of fan clubs the world over are the manifestation of the awe inspired by it. The Jumbo – with minor modifications – has been in production for forty years, and for almost that long it also managed to hold the record of the highest number of passengers on board a single aircraft (until the launch of the Airbus A380). Its latest version, the extensively re-designed 747-8 will first be put into operation by Cargolux, one of the major freight partners of Budapest Airport, in only a few months time.

Due to its size, Budapest Airport is able to receive even larger cargo aircraft, since its 3707-meter-long runway II is safely able to accommodate even the largest cargo aircraft in the world. The presence of the giant cargo aircraft is important for the entire Hungarian economy, since the top-quality medicine products as well as the world-famous goose liver produced in Hungary are transported on board these aircraft to the Far East."

Source: Budapest Airport