Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport, known simply as “Ferihegy,” the name of an area on the outskirts of the Hungarian capital that today is mostly taken up by the airport, has seen traffic boom in recent years, with passenger numbers expected to surpass 2019 pre-covid number numbers for the first time this year.
The airport is undergoing significant capacity expansions and has been announcing new flights continuously to cities all around the world, but direct flights to the U.S. have failed to make the cut.
Bryan Leib, senior fellow at Budapest’s Center for Fundamental Rights, a former GOP primary candidate for the House (Florida’s 25th district), and a possible candidate to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to Hungary, took to X to highlight the issue.
“U.S. airline carriers fly non-stop to scores of European cities on a daily and weekly basis but there are no such direct flights to/from Budapest, Hungary. I would like to see this change in 2025 to help increase trade and tourism!” Leib wrote in his post.
CEO of Budapest Airport, Kam Jandu, has blamed the delay on “persistent problems in the airlines’ global supply chains.” Back in August of 2023 Jandu had in fact said that resuming flights to New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Toronto was “one of Budapest Airport’s most important priorities” for 2024.
For Hungarians and foreigners alike, more flights are keenly wanted. “Everyone would love these flights,” Leib told Remix News, but they’re still waiting.
Local journalist Csaba Tóth pointed to a report out of Hungarian legal news portal Jogasz Vilag in May, highlighting the increase in major cities reached from Budapest Airport, with a focus on China.
Most importantly, the site noted the desire for flights to the U.S. and expectations for them to be coming soon, pointing directly to the business angle.
“Many travelers miss the fact that, despite the good results, there are still no direct intercontinental flights between the Hungarian capital and the major cities of North America. According to the news, many airlines are also planning to change this. If it is worth it for them from an economic point of view, in 2025 even more people can restart their flights to and from Budapest. For example, to New York, Toronto, or maybe Miami,” the site states.
Despite an increase in American tourists visiting Budapest in recent years, they are nowhere near the top nationality making the trip, despite the numerous lists Budapest and its many attractions get put on. Time, Condé Nast, and CNN have all featured the CEE gem. Budapest has been profiled extensively for its beauty, safety, and affordability, but a connecting flight of close to 10 hours is a serious deterrent.
With Donald Trump in the White House, Leib tells Remix that making more direct flights to major key hubs on the eastern seaboard is a “no-brainer.”
Noting Orbán’s “very close” relationship with Trump, Leib says relations between the U.S. and Hungary will now be “growing exponentially,” adding that “from a people-to-people or business-to-business perspective, to grow tourism and increase trade, there simply needs to be direct flights.”
U.S. airline carriers “are flying non-stop to scores of cities all over Europe,” he says, so why not Budapest? Of course, this is just a part of repairing and growing U.S.-Hungarian relations for Leib, who has dedicated himself to the cause.
Being an ally of Hungary comes naturally for the politician, as Hungary is in his blood. Leib’s great-grandparents were born in Hungary, and he has spoken fondly of his grandparents’ Hungarian traits, “hard-working, humble, kind and strong,” in a letter featured last October on Neokohn.hu. In that piece, Leib thanked Hungary for its “friendship and support” in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel.
“Even with all of the pain and grief that we all were feeling, my eyes were opened in the most amazing way possible to who and what the Hungarian people are and what they stand for,” he noted at the time.
Most recently, Leib has been urging Hungary and the United States to renew strong ties now that Donald Trump will be back in charge.
He also has been a key figure in congratulating Orbán’s bravery in standing up to the ICC arrest warrant for Israeli PM Netanyahu, a warrant the Hungarian PM says he will not honor, directly inviting Israel’s leader to Budapest and defying warnings from Brussels that Hungary is obliged to comply with ICC warrants as an EU member state. The U.S. itself does not even acknowledge the authority of the ICC.
As already noted, Leib has been mentioned locally as a possible candidate to replace the very controversial “activist” David Pressman as U.S. ambassador here in Budapest. The CEO of conservative PR firm Henry Public Relations has been a vocal critic of Pressman’s antagonistic actions during his tenure and has numerous connections already established to facilitate fruitful work in the role.
Whether he lands the position or not, Hungary stands poised to benefit from not only a Trump White House but also from allies like Leib who seek to build constructive, respectful, and pro-business relations going forward.
