Budget airlines flying into Ferihegy Airport have boosted Hungarian tourism coffers by $120 million, according to regional development minister István Kolber

Budget airlines flying into Ferihegy Airport have boosted Hungarian tourism coffers by $120 million, according to regional development minister István Kolber. The new breed of lowcost carriers are now responsible for 22% of all arrivals in Budapest, up from 8% at the beginning of the year. According to the state tourism office, budget airline passengers arriving in Hungary typically stay in the capital for two or three days and spend an average of $133 per day. Whilst the budget sector helped tourism bosses exceed their targets, the pressures of running profitable routes are clear, with two high profile airline closures in recent weeks. Poland's first budget airline, Air Polonia, grounded all operations on December 5 citing financial problems, despite boasting of average load factors of 90%. SkyEurope and Wizz Air came to the rescue of some 53,000 stranded passengers offering free flights, hoping to fill future seats on highly competitive routes. Wizz Air has also announced additional flights between Warsaw and London to take advantage of the additional demand at Christmas. Air Polonia's closure follows the bankruptcy of the Italian carrier Volare which ceased operations on November 19. The airline, which served Prague and Bucharest from Rome, employed 1,380 staff and operated 24 aircraft.