When Malev collapsed earlier this year, Budapest Ferihegy Airport saw a lot of its traffic disappear. Ryanair was quick to fill the vacuum but they ran into a number of unexpected problems. Downgrading quality is apparently as difficult as upgrading it…
Budapest Ferihegy Airport has two terminals. Terminal 1 is the old terminal and was used lately by the low-fare airlines. Terminal 2 A and B is the new facility, one of which was used exclusively by Malev and which was left vacant after the failure of the Hungarian airline.
When Ryanair arrived, they drove a hard bargain with the airport company and ended up using the former Malev part of Terminal 2 but! Ryanair does not use airbridges and passengers are supposed to walk to their aircraft wherever the low-fare airline operates. But those are typically second tier airports where the walking distance is limited. Not so at Ferihegy where the airport was built to use buses for the remote stands which are located quite some distance from the building itself.
I guess the managers of the airport and the security folks were breaking out in a cold sweat for several days when they imagined a 737 planeload of passengers trotting in the rain from the exit to the parked aircraft… some of them straying, others trying to come back… horrible! Clearly, something had to be done.
Well, the solution they came up with is what you see on the picture above. Depending on your temperament and experience, you might say this makes you feel like you were in Disneyland waiting to get on a new ride… or you will say this is not for people but only for cattle.
Sic Transit Gloria Mundi!