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July 5, 2017
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July 22, 2017Budapest Ferenc Liszt Airport Spotting Guide
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- last modified on November 09, 2018
The Budapest Liszt Ferenc Airport (BUD/LHBP) is the biggest Airport in Hungary and located 15km south-east of the downtown. The airport was opened in 1950 and named after the hungarian composer Liszt Ferenc in 2011. In 2016 more than 11 million passengers visited BUD.
Airport can be reached easily from Deak Ferenc ter (city center) with the busline “100E” in only ~30 minutes for 900 HUF.
The Airport was the Hub of the hungarian national carrier Malév, but in 2012 they went bankrupt. Today the Airfield is being used by LCC Airlines and some europaen Airlines which connect Budapest to other important Cities in Europe. At the moment (July 2017) there are 3 non-european Airlines flying to BUD regularly. Air China offers Flights from/to Bejing via Minsk a few times a week (A330), Qatar Airways connects Budapest with Doha twice a day (A320/321/330) and Emirates serves Dubai once a day (B777). LOT started flights from Budapest to New York and Chicago with their B788 Dreamliner. Cargolux, UPS, FedEx, Qatar Airways Cargo, MNG Cargo, Turkish Cargo or Air Europa Cargo can often been seen at the most important airport in Hungary, too.
Written by Severin Hackenberger (regular visitor) and Levente Greczula. Updated: September 2018
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| Airport Information | Runways | 13R/31L | 13L/31R | |
| 3010m × 45m | 3707m × 45m | |||
| concrete | concrete | |||
| Terminals | 1 | 2A | 2B | |
| closed | active | active | ||
| – | Sky Team and Star Alliance Flights and almost all “Schengen-flights” | One World Flights, “Non-Schengen-flights” and Low-Cost-Carrier (e. g. FR, W6, DY) | ||
| Spotting Information | Ladder | Almost never needed, just sometimes useful | ||
| Car | Necessary as public transport is quite poor except to the terminal. | |||
| Restrooms | Available in the terminals and the mentioned restaurants (or gas stations). | |||
| Drinks/Food | There are a few shops inside the aiport and some inside the nearby villages, but around most spots there won’t be any within ~10 minutes walkingtime. | |||
| Hotels | A few around the airport. A brand new Ibis hotel opened in 2018. | |||
| Season | In summer there are some extra flights, but there aren’t enough to determine main- or off-season. Just some more flights to Egypt. | |||
| Runway Usage | 13R/31L | During 31 Usage, this one is for arrivals and during 13 Usage, this one is for departures. | ||
| 13L/31R | During 31 Usage, this one is for departures and during 13 Usage, this one is for arrivals.
Most bizzer and a few freighter will use this runway all the time; doesn’t matters, which activities are here normally. |
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Spot #1 – Cargohill – Arrivals/Departures 13R + Departures 31L + late vacators Arrival 31L |
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| WHERE | This spot can be reached with public transport from “Köbanya Kispest” metrostation. Take the Airport Bus 200E and disembark at the 3rd stop called “Szemeretelep vasutallomas”. Then, cross under the overhead highway towards “Igló utca”, and it’s ~5 minutes walk straight to the hill, just follow the road as it turns right all the way next to Hungarocontrol’s building. After some time you’ll see some roadtraingates, then jsut climb the hill on your right.
If you want to drive there by car from the terminal, just take the Ferihegy highway into city direction. Be sure to take the lower level (drive right) just a few houndred meter after you passed the old Terminal 1 on your right. After around 500m you have to turn right into the “Igló utca” and follow this road until you didn’t get to a control gate. Just park your car on the right and climb up the dome. |
| WHAT | Arrivals and Departures on RWY 13R and Departures on RWY 31L, but most of them are already pretty high. You can also get some late vacators from RWY 31L after arrival.
You can also take nice night shots from here – EXAMPLE. |
| TIME | In summer from late morning till sunset and in the winter from around shortly after sunrise till sunset. |
| MISC. | No ladder needed. For little drinks/snacks (and maybe restrooms, we don’t know) you can visit the gas station which is next to the Ferihegy highway into city direction (from here). |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 30 – 300mm
(W6) A321 = 145mm / (U2) A320 = 220mm / ERJ170 = 236mm / (QR) A321 = 210mm / B737 = 295mm / (QS) A320 = 235mm |
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Spot #2 – Fishing pond – Arrivals 13R & 31L departures |
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| WHERE | If coming from the city, drive on “Bélatelepi út” and turn right before the 90° curve. Take the dirt road. You may park your car next to the dirt road. Walk along the perimeter fence until you find the spot you like.
The spot is accessible by public transport, too: take bus 98 from Kőbánya-Kispest metro station and disembark at Orgoványi utca stop. |
| WHAT | 13R arrivals and departures 31L. |
| TIME | Light from sunrise till late morning in the summer and in the winter almost unuseable, just a 1-2 hours after sunrise. |
| MISC. | There is nothing nearby, so bring what you need. A ladder is quite useful here because the perimeter fence is relatively tall. However, you can make it without a ladder since there is a hummock, or you can shoot through the fence. If doing so, make sure that you do not touch the fence. This activates the alarm system of the airport security team. Also, please note that part of this spot is located on private property. The owner of the farm is friendly with the spotters, so please do not litter or do any harm. If you are visiting in the summer season, please do not smoke at the spot, or make sure that you blow out the cigarette stub because it may cause a fire.
Heat haze can cause problems, especially on hot summer days. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100 – 400mm |
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Spot #3 – Bocskaikert utca – Arrivals 13L |
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| WHERE | This spot is quiet far away from the terminal and can´t be reached with public transport. If you want to drive there by car from the terminal, just take the Ferihegy highway into city direction. Be sure to take the lower level (drive right) just a few houndred meter after you passed the old Terminal 1 on your right. After around 2km you should see a gas station on your right. turn right just after the Petrol gas station onto the Csévéző ut. Follow this road for about 1,5km until you can see the Lőrinci út on your left. After 800m you have to turn right into the Bocskai István ut and after 650m you can park the car and search for your favourite spot and perspective you like the most! |
| WHAT | 13L Arrivals only. |
| TIME | In summer from late morning till sunset and in the winter from around shortly after sunrise till sunset. |
| MISC. | No ladder needed and no restrooms near to this spot. For little drinks/snacks you can visit the gas sattion which is next to the crossing of Ferihegy highway and Csévéző ut. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70 – 300mm
ERJ170 = 135mm / (E4) B737 = 195mm / A320 = 180mm / A321 = 175mm / (LS) B737 = 190mm / CRJ900 = 210mm |
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Spot #5 – Dirtroad – Arrivals 31R |
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| WHERE | Follow the M4, heading Szolnok, until you have the possibilty to exit for Vecses/Ecser, so exit the M4 there. Turn right onto the Uj Ecseri ut and follow this road for about 800m – then exit the roundabout at the 3rd exit onto a dirty pathroad. After you passed some trees to your right and left you have to turn left and just 10m after the first crossing right again. Now follow this path until you want and just park your car there. It depens on the perspective you like the most! |
| WHAT | Arrivals on runway 31R only. |
| TIME | In summer from late morning till sunset and in the winter from around shortly after sunrise till sunset. |
| MISC. | There is nothing nearby, so bring with you what you need.
If it is rainy it can be dangerous to drive on the path, because your car may get stuck. If so, just park your car next to the roundabout and walk to the spot. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100 – 250mm
ATR72 = 190 / B737 = 195mm / (U2) A320 = 190mm / A321 = 160mm / B747 = 125mm / (QR) A320 = 200mm |
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Spot #6 – Fieldarrivals – Arrivals 31R |
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| WHERE | Follow the M4, heading Szolnok, until you have the possibilty to exit for Vecses/Ecser, so exit the M4 there. Turn right onto the “Uj Ecseri ut” and follow this road for about 800m – then exit the roundabout at the 3rd exit onto a dirty pathroad. Follow this path until you get to the arrival lights, then turn right, drive until you want and just park your car there. It depens on the perspective you like the most! |
| WHAT | Arrivals on runway 31R only. |
| TIME | In summer from sunrise till early midday/late morning and in winter almost unuseable. |
| MISC. | There is nothing nearby, so bring with you what you need.
If it is rainy it can be dangerous to drive on the path, because your car may get stuck. If so, just park your car next to the roundabout and walk to the spot. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100 – 250mm
A320 = 180mm / A321 = 195mm / B737 = 160mm |
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#6 – Spotterdomb – 31R arrivals + late 31R Line-Ups |
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| WHERE | Follow the M4, heading Szolnok, until you have the possibilty to exit for Vecses/Ecser, so exit the M4 there. Turn left onto the “Uj Ecseri” ut and follow this road for about 500m – then turn right onto the road “400”. After about 2km turn right again onto “Ecseri ut”. Follow this road and park your car after you crossed the M4. Now just walk for ~5 minutes following the signs towards the location along the dirty path – we marked the route on our map as well. |
| WHAT | Departures, if the planes take the last taxiway to enter the runway, and arrivals on runway 31R. |
| TIME | In summer from late morning till sunset and in the winter from around shortly after sunrise till sunset. |
| MISC. | There is nothing nearby, so bring with you what you need. The “Spotterdomb” is well known by the general public, so it can be a bit crowded in the weekends.
Heat haze is a BIG problem here. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 30 – 300mm
B767 on taxiway = ~45mm / A321 on runway = 230mm / SSJ95 on runway = 280mm |
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Spot #7 – Visitor terrace – Terminal 2A “Schengenapron” + nearby taxiways + 31R departures + 13L Arrivals |
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| WHERE | The visitor terrace is landside on the top of BUD Terminal 2A. Just follow the signs inside the terminal(s) and you will get to the small terrace which is fully glazed.
This spot is located BEFORE the SECURITY CHECK and can be entered without one. We marked on the map, where you can take pictures from once you arrived on the terrace. Quite important, as subjects and angle of view can change along this “route”. |
| WHAT | From here you can see parts of the apron infront of Terminal 2A as well as parts of the nearby taxiways. 13L Arrivals and late 31R departures are okay as well. |
| TIME | Depends on what you want to take a picture of! The RWY 13L/31R has light from late morning till sunset in summer and in the winter from around shortly after sunrise till sunset. On the other RWY 13R/31L you will have backlit and distance is too high for good shots. On the apron it depends on the angle and position of the aircraft, but almost unuseable from late afternoon on as you’ll have backlit from this timepoint on for the most activities. |
| MISC. | No ladder needed as it’s useless here. Everything needed inside the terminal facilities, which are very close for sure. Heat haze is a problem here. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70 – 300mm
ATR72 = 250 / Avro = 265mm / A320 = 270mm |
Example overview along the glassfront:
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Spot #8 – Smoking terrace – Terminal 2A “Schengenapron” + nearby taxiways + 31R departures + 13L Arrivals |
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| WHERE | This smoking terrace is inside BUD Terminal 2A and can be reached only AFTER the SECURITY CHECK WITH AN VALID BOARDING PASS.
After passing the security, head to the upper floor – the foodcourt. Then walk to the floors north-western end, pass the “leroy Bistro” on your left and follow the signs to the smoking terrace. Just after passing the electronical doors, turn left to glassfront, where we took our example pictures from. This corner is quite quit and not that smoky, that’s why we stood here. We marked on the map, where you can take pictures from once you arrived on the terrace. Quite important, as subjects and angle of view can change along this “route”. |
| WHAT | From here you can see parts of the apron infront of Terminal 2A as well as parts of the nearby taxiways. 13L Arrivals and late 31R departures are okay as well. |
| TIME | Depends on what you want to take a picture of! The RWY 13L/31R has light from late morning till sunset in summer and in the winter from around shortly after sunrise till sunset. On the other RWY 13R/31L you will have backlit and distance is too high for good shots. On the apron it depends on the angle and position of the aircraft, but almost unuseable from late afternoon on as you’ll have backlit from this timepoint on for the most activities. |
| MISC. | No ladder needed as it’s useless here. Everything needed inside the terminal facilities, which are very close for sure. Heat haze is a problem here.
If you don’t like or bear smoking smell, you should avoid this spot. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70 – 300mm
A321 = 185mm |
Example overview along the glassfront – this one was taken next to the mentioned door:
3 Comments
Hi,
Just a small notice, LOT announced starts fly from summer 2018.
Regards,
Zoltan Peter Pasztor
Hi, Zoltan Peter Pasztor!
Thanks for the infromation.
Regards, Severin
As a local resident, this LHBP guide is quite good. However, Spot #1 (Cargohill) can be reached by public transportation. Take the Airport Bus (200E) from Kobanya Kispest Metro Station, and disembark at the 3rd stop called “Szemeretelep vasutallomas”. Then, cross under the overhead highway towards Igló street, and it’s ~5 minutes walk straight to the hill, just follow the road as it turns right all the way next to Hungarocontrol’s building.