It is 8.30 in the evening but the briefing room is not empty. We are getting ready for a long trip. Destination: Palma de Mallorca, the capital city of the Balearic Islands. We are the opening flight of the season for Ecotours, the Polish travel agency. We discuss the weather… convection thunderstorm cells have risen… Continue reading Night run – impressions from a charter flight
Tag: Budapest
When things go wrong…
The aviation industry has such a wonderful safety record that people boarding an aircraft rarely, if ever, think about the possibility of an accident happening to them. Of course the same people will have driven down the highway to the airport similarly unaware that, statistically, they were in a much more dangerous place than on… Continue reading When things go wrong…
From tragicomedy to tragedy
Earlier on I called the history of the Ferihegy control tower a tragicomedy. By the first half of 2010 it seems we have been left with tragedy only. There were so many sad and somber events that even a guy with an essentially optimistic outlook like me is left wondering… Why have we deserved all… Continue reading From tragicomedy to tragedy
Staying at the Airport Hotel – Budapest
Our latest business opportunities call for an increasing amount of travel, among them to Budapest, Hungary. Budapest is special in more ways than one, including the fact that it is my birth city and coming back even if for a short time is always a pleasure. Last week’s trip was a combined business/holiday affair and… Continue reading Staying at the Airport Hotel – Budapest
Who shall be boss?
The story started back in 2009, on 20 April to be exact. As you will see the dates are important, this is why I am trying to remember them exactly. It was on this date that I completed the usual yearly proficiency test and I was so pleased with my 92 % result it never… Continue reading Who shall be boss?
Station calling – Visiting the Budapest Airport Hotel, your home away from home
Hotels serving airports tend to be either dreary or expensive or both and all too often they do not much care about their guests who are in transit and are unlikely to become regulars anyway. One can find good examples of how it can and should be done at the several hotels around Brussels airport and… Continue reading Station calling – Visiting the Budapest Airport Hotel, your home away from home
The tower with a soul… 12
From shared lunches to more restrictions As the years passed and we approached the tenth anniversary of being on the job, contact with other colleagues of my age group tapered off. Some of them went to other shifts or even other control units and this did not help of course. But on the few occasions… Continue reading The tower with a soul… 12
A tower with a soul…11
Small planes, small airports The change of political system in Hungary was the main driver behind the presence of an increasing number of small aircraft, more and more people chose this way to visit the country. Since there was only one international airport, Ferihegy in Budapest, every plane had to land there to complete the… Continue reading A tower with a soul…11
New series on Roger-Wilco. The tower with a soul…
If you enjoyed reading the sometimes incredible stories in Same Time, Same Place, Same Level…, keep your seatbelts fastened! The last part of Same Time having just been published, we are bringing you a new series under the title: The tower with a soul. This will be the story of the first 25 years in the… Continue reading New series on Roger-Wilco. The tower with a soul…
Should MALEV be saved?
Do you remember the term “flag-carrier”? This was usually applied to the airline of a country which was seen as the object of national pride. As recently as a decade ago, when new States came into being, no matter how small, one of their first acts had been to create a national airline (often followed… Continue reading Should MALEV be saved?