History
The location of Debrecen Airport in HungaryThe history of Debrecen Airport goes back to the early 20th Century. The first official regular flight carrying mail took off in 1930. Subsequently the Airport served sport and military purposes. During World War II it was the base of a Hungarian bombing squad.
From 1930 it had remarkable domestic traffic serving flights from Debrecen to Budapest and to other major cities in Hungary.
Between 1946-1968 Debrecen Airport functioned also as an emergency airfield for Budapest Airport. Following World War II the Soviet air force had control over the airport until 1990. The political transition brought revival of the airport and international civilian traffic was launched together with sports aviation.
In May, 1991, Soviet troops vacated the airport and handed in over to the Hungarian State.
In 1994 Debrecen Municipal Government realized the need to develop the airport and included it in its development plan. The city purchased the airport and has been steadily developing it.
The comprehensive Development Program of Debrecen Airport was launched in 2001, the stages of this development program were as follows:
May 29, 2001 - Airport status: non commercial airport for domestic flights also open to international traffic.
Dec 29, 2001 - Airport status: commercial airport for domestic flights also open to international traffic.
May 16, 2002 - Airport status: International airport for domestic flights also open to international traffic.
April 22, 2004 - Airport status: permanent border crossing and customs Route.
Till 2004 Debrecen city invested 3,5 billion Forints to buy out, operate and continually develop Debrecen Airport.
The closest airport within Hungary currently with regular scheduled flights is Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport, the closest airport in terms of distance is Oradea Airport in Romania 1 hour and 20 minutes away from Debrecen.
Read more about this topic: Debrecen International Airport
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