New Hungarian Airline Obtains Necessary Certificates for Operation

The Airbus A330F. Hungary Airlines has taken over the operation of the state-owned Airbus A330F cargo aircraft, and since the end of November the state-owned Air Hungary has become a shareholder in the company, Airportal.hu reports. As reported by Hu

By: hungarytoday.hu

Jan 08 2025
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New Hungarian Airline Obtains

The Airbus A330F.

Hungary Airlines has taken over the operation of the state-owned Airbus A330F cargo aircraft, and since the end of November the state-owned Air Hungary has become a shareholder in the company, Airportal.hu reports.

As reported by Hungary Today, the first news that a new Hungarian airline could be launched emerged in the spring of 2024. Universal Translink Airline Hungary (later briefly Hungary Cargo Airlines), which was registered in 2021, was renamed Hungary Airlines in April 2024. The company even started recruiting staff and developing the airline’s image in May, but its website is no longer available.

Founded in 2021, the company has been active in the air cargo transport between China and Hungary for many years. Until the end of November 2024, the state-owned Airbus A330F aircraft operated by Wizz Air had been flying cargo for the company from Changzhou and Hangzhou to Budapest in recent years, and several aircraft leased from other airlines are currently flying between China and Hungary on behalf of the company.

The airline carried out its first test flight on December 23, followed by several training flights between Budapest and Kecskemét on January 4 and 5, with its own “HUA” code and “BUDAPEST” call sign.

On January 5, the Airbus A330F with flight number HUA 951 headed to Shanghai’s second airport, Hongqiao International Airport, for an overdue maintenance, writes Airportal.hu.

Although the list of companies holding an Aircraft Operating Certificate (AOC) from the Aviation Authority, part of the Ministry of Construction and Transport, has not yet been updated, Hungary Airlines was reportedly issued an AOC in December, and at the same time received the ICAO identifier “HUA” and the call sign “BUDAPEST.”

According to another register of the Authority, that was recently made available online but officially updated on December 7, 2024, the company already holds the EASA Part-CAMO (Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization) certificate.

The majority shareholder of Hungary Airlines Kft. is Chinese businessman Wu Jiang, a resident of Hungary and presumably a Hungarian citizen, with a stake of more than 50 percent. Two minority shareholders are listed in the company register: the Beijing-based UTL Digital Logistics Co. Ltd. and, as of November 28, 2024, the Hungarian state-owned Air Hungary Szolgáltató Zrt.

Hungary Airlines has five senior executives, with two Hungarian professionals, Gábor Talabos and Gábor Varga, running the company alongside Wu Jiang and co-founder Duan Bo. At the end of November, Tibor Péter Borbély, Chair of the Board of Air Hungary Zrt, joined the management.

As reported in early December last year, the chair of Hungary Airlines has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the American manufacturer for the purchase of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The original report was published on Chinese portal Xindaobao/Új Szemle, but it was removed shortly afterwards. The company’s CEO and co-founder told a conference in Budapest in autumn 2023 that they had planned to operate two of their own Boeing 777-300ERSFs, converted from passenger to freighter, alongside cargo charters from other airlines, but that had not yet happened.

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