Budapest Ferenc Liszt Intl Airport (BUD) Flights & Information

Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (BUD) sits around 10 miles southeast of the Hungarian capital it serves. Named for the composer Liszt, it’s a compact airport with a single terminal, offering flights to many destinations across Europe, and a few further afield.

Budapest Airport is home to low-cost carrier Wizz Air, which offers flights to and from a wide variety of European cities, as does competing low-cost powerhouse Ryanair. Most other European airlines fly to Budapest from their home hubs, with a few scattered long-haul flights to Asia as well.

Airport terminal and layout

The single terminal at BUD is pretty simple when it comes to check-in and bag drop. It’s technically named Terminal 2, but there’s no longer a Terminal 1.

To help you get your bearings, the terminal itself is an odd shape that looks sort of like an H if you squint. In the center of the H you’ll find check-in, security and most of the shops and restaurants in the multi-level SkyCourt departures area. On the right-hand side of the H is the concourse with the A gates and on the left-hand side are the B gates.

Keep your wits about you if you’re using the A gates because the numbering is a little unusual – I’ve definitely sped past gates A31 through A33, which are bizarrely right in the center next to gates A1 through A8. If you’re flying from gates A12 through A25, do be aware that this part of the concourse is a bit of a walk from the main section.

If you have a long wait, you can get some fresh air at the rooftop observation terrace that sits above the check-in counters in area 2A. For longer layovers, or if you have a super early morning flight, there’s an Ibis Styles hotel across the main parking lot from the terminal.

Arrivals at BUD

Arriving into BUD is simple and usually pretty quick. You’ll walk from your gate to the baggage claim belts in either arrivals area 2A or 2B, and from there into the main arrivals area. You’ll be directed through passport control if needed.

Once you’ve left the baggage area, you’ll find all the usual arrivals options like rental car offices (mostly on the 2B side), information for taxis and minibuses, and the BKK public transportation help point.

There’s also a small supermarket in arrivals area 2B, which can be great to pick up a quick meal or snack on arrival. It’s also handy for grabbing a bite before your flight – prices are a bit more expensive than in town, but cheaper and usually nicer than buying food on the plane.

Departures at the airport

If you’re checking in at the airport or dropping a bag, you’ll need to go to either the 2A or 2B terminal check-in zones depending on which airline you’re flying. Check your booking or online boarding pass for which area you should head for in order to avoid unnecessarily walking across the check-in area with your luggage.

Some airlines have permanent desks – you can count on Air France, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Swiss and Turkish Airlines being in 2A, while El Al, Emirates, Qatar and Wizz Air are always in 2B. Other airline desks change, so keep an eye on the screens. Don’t worry, though – it’s all one building so you can walk between them if needed.

Budapest is home to a lot of low-cost carrier flights – especially Wizz Air and Ryanair – so if you’re flying on them do make sure that you keep to the very letter of their rules on things like baggage, boarding passes and any other restrictions.

Security lines at BUD

Security at Budapest is to the European standard, so make sure you have your liquids, creams, gels and pastes in small 3.4-ounce containers, all contained in a single 1-liter zipped bag (just under 1 quart).

Lines can really vary depending on the time of day, how many other flights there are and how many other passengers are seemingly surprised by the idea that there have been liquid restrictions on flights since 2006. Fast-track security is available, though, and is usually included with business class tickets or if you’re a frequent flyer with your airline or one of its partners.

Most low-cost airlines will sell you fast track access as well, though check that they’re not taking a big markup on it. It’s pretty inexpensive if you want to skip the line and you can even pay for it at the airport if you get there and the regular line is super long – I think this is the best plan, to be honest.

Most of the restaurants and shops at the airport are in the central area known as the SkyCourt. A few more are clustered around gates B1 through B9, but if you’re traveling from gates B12 upwards in the B concourse or gates A12 upwards on the A concourse, I’d recommend picking up what you need before heading to your gate.

Getting to and from Budapest airport by public transportation

Unless I’m traveling with a lot of luggage, I usually take the bus into Budapest. There are 2 main public bus routes into the city – the limited-stop 100E Airport Express and the regular 200E bus route. There’s an extra charge for the 100E, but it’s not expensive and a good bit more convenient in many cases.

Taking a bus from the airport

The 100E takes about 30 to 40 minutes into Deák Ferenc tér, where many local buses, trams and 3 metro lines converge. It also stops at the metro stations Kálvin tér (lines 3 and 4) and Astoria (line 2) if those are more convenient for you. It runs 24 hours and leaves regularly, with even greater frequency in the daytime.

The 200E, meanwhile, runs to the Kőbánya-Kispest metro station on line 3, where you can change for the city. If you’re staying somewhere on that line, this can actually work out to be more convenient than the 100E. The 200E will also take you to the Ferihegy train station just outside the airport, with trains to cities across Hungary.

Be aware that if you’re taking the 200E or any other local transportation that isn’t the 100E, you need to validate your ticket on board or when entering the metro station. The BudapestGO app from local transport operator BKK is handy and lets you buy tickets within the app. You can also simply tap to pay with your contactless credit or debit card on the 100E Airport express bus.

If you need help figuring out your route or any other part of the public transportation experience, there are customer service points for BKK in the 2A and 2B areas.

Minibus shuttle, car, taxi and rideshare

Taxi stands are located outside the 2A and 2B arrivals areas and work like taxi stands anywhere. Budapest doesn’t have traditional rideshare apps for private vehicles.

You can use Uber and Bolt to hail you a taxi (including a larger XL taxi), but they’re just regular city taxis so it’s probably easier to just head to the taxi stand at the airport anyway. They might be handy to get to the airport from wherever you’re staying, though.

Hungary-only options including Főtaxi and City-Taxi Budapest exist, but the apps are pretty clunky so I recommend sticking with Uber or Bolt as your taxi-summoning app of choice, if needed.

Budapest Airport has an official minibus shuttle service called miniBUD. I’ve never found this to be a whole lot cheaper than simply hopping in a taxi, though, and you’ll be sharing it with strangers heading to or from the airport so it never seems like a great choice to me when a private taxi is similarly priced.

Lounges, kids area and free Wi-Fi at BUD

BUD has a surprising number of lounges on offer. They’re nicely split across the 2A and 2B areas, as well as within the central SkyCourt departures area. Some serve flights within the common European border Schengen Area, while some are only for flights outside this zone (such as to the UK, Ireland and outside Europe).

Of all of the lounged at BUD, I find the nicest to be the Plaza Premium lounges. Conveniently, these are also part of the Priority Pass network and free to members.

If you’re traveling with kids, there’s a super cute play area upstairs in the food court of the central SkyCourt area, and another between gates A17 and A19 in the A concourse. It’s perfect for getting those pre-flight zoomies out before boarding.

There’s free Wi-Fi across departures and arrivals at BUD, with a limit per login of 4 hours. Look for the bud:free wifi network.