Airports Council International (ACI), has awarded Budapest Airport with carbon-neutral accreditation, making it the first airport in the Central-Eastern Europe to receive the environmental accolade.
It’s a huge boost to the Hungarian gateway, which is a hub for several low-fare carriers and sets the bar for other airports in the region to follow suit.
As part of its strategy to reduce CO2 emissions, Budapest Airport replaced lighting fixtures in the terminal with LED-based systems and continues to refurbish and maintain the district heating pipes as well as the pumps its water supply system. A key component of the carbon neutral programme is that air handling and air conditioning equipment are also upgraded on an ongoing basis. As a result of such consistent efforts, CO2 emission of Budapest Airports per passenger was reduced by as much as 44% over the last five years.
Commenting on the accreditation, Gábor Szarvas, enivornmental director at Budapaest Airport said:
Since passenger traffic has been increasingly significantly, we are continuously working on making the airport operation greener, in the framework of our Greenairport programme. This summer, the new passenger pier at Terminal 2B will be handed over, featuring state-of-the-art technologies for heating and cooling. In addition, we continue to increase the number of electric vehicles at the airport and to commission charging stations, reducing CO2 emissions due to fossil fuels.
The team at Budapest is encouraging its partners at the airport, as well as in other organisations and authorities to adapt sustainable practices. The Greenairport initiative was launched three years ago, aimed at making the operation of Liszt Ferenc International Airport sustainable via joint environmental actions.
