Fly Balaton Airport in Hungary to be resuscitated in April

Fly Balaton Airport at Sármellék (western end of Lake Balaton) is to be back in business from April, Hungarian business daily Napi Gazdaság reported on Friday. The airfield has been temporarily closed repeatedly, last time in early October 2009, after reopening in April.

The paper learned that liquidator Vectigalis Zrt had reached an agreement on putting the airport back on the map with a Hungarian company.

Vectigalis launched liquidation proceedings (at the request of an unnamed entity) against Cape Clear Aviation, the operator of the airport, on 10 November last year.

According to March 2009 court of registry data, CCA was owned by foreign individuals – one of British and three of Irish nationality, including CEO Jonathan Moore – as well as Cyprus-based Roxino Investments and Quadrator Kft., a Budapest-based real estate company. The owners of the latter firm include Ágoston Gubicza, who resigned as CCA managing director in early 2009.

CCA made a lease agreement for the airport with the local government of Zalavár and Sármellék for 99 years in 2004. The airport handled nearly 120,000 passengers in 2008, but then its key partner, Ryanair opted out at the end of October and operations were suspended until April 2009.

Between April and October last year the operator claims to have handled some 15,000 passengers at Sármellék.

Jenő Varga, head of liquidator Vectigalis told the paper that CCA left behind a debt of HUF 600-700 million.