Budapest's main airport opened at Ferihegy in 1950, replacing the older field at Budaors, which had grown too small for modern planes. The original building, now called Terminal 1, is a protected historic structure that was restored and reopened in 2005 before closing again to scheduled flights in 2012. It remains a well known landmark in the city today, admired for its clean, modern lines.
Through the communist decades, the airport was home to Malev, Hungary's flag carrier, and one of the country's few regular links to Western Europe. Malev flew from Budapest to places across the Soviet bloc and beyond, with very few private travel options available at that time. Terminal 2 opened in 1985 and grew a second hall in 1998, adding much needed space as traffic grew.
The turning point came in February 2012, when Malev collapsed after 66 years, leaving Hungary without a flag carrier overnight. Rather than shrink, Budapest boomed instead. Wizz Air, Ryanair, and other budget airlines poured in capacity within weeks, and passenger numbers roughly doubled over the next seven years. Renamed for composer Franz Liszt in 2011, the airport later gained a cargo hub in 2019 and remains a key regional gateway.