The second European airline in less then a week shutdown. Malev Hungarian Airlines part of One World grounded all aircraft and stoped all operations. Directions for passingers has been posted on the company webpage. Spanair shutdown just a week before.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on state radio that two Malev planes were still overseas, one in Tel Aviv, the other in the Irish Republic. The premier said those planes were not allowed to take off because of Malev's debts.
Lufthansa jumped on the service hole now that there are no more Malev flights. Lufthansa has quickly extended its program to Hungary. Starting on 6 In February 2012 there will be new daily scheduled service from Berlin-Tegel (departure 10) and from Hamburg (departure 11.15). This summer 100 weekly Lufthansa flights will operate between Germany and Hungary.
The Irish low-cost airline Ryanair announced 26 new routes from Budapest in a move to capitalise on the grounding of Malev. Its rival low-cost airlines easyJet and Wizz Air also moved to take advantage of the Hungarian airline's demise, offering "rescue package tickets" to passengers due to fly with Malev for about €60.
The grounding of Malev brings an end to 66 years of almost continuous service and throws into focus the wider problems afflicting Hungary, which has been hammered by the financial crisis.
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