Aviation History
Hungary's flag carrier lineage began in 1946 as Maszovlet, a joint Hungarian-Soviet airline, becoming fully Hungarian-owned and renamed Malév in 1954. Malév operated through the communist era and post-1989 transition before collapsing in February 2012 after the European Commission ruled that Hungarian state aid extended to the airline was illegal, leaving Hungary without a flag carrier. Budapest's main airport (renamed Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport in 2011) has since developed as a major base for Wizz Air, the low-cost carrier founded in Hungary in 2003.
A joint Hungarian-Soviet air transport company, Maszovlet, was established, laying the groundwork for Hungary's national airline.
Soviet shares in the airline transferred to Hungary, and the carrier was reorganized as the fully Hungarian state-owned Malév Hungarian Airlines.
The end of communist rule opened Malév to Western aircraft types and route expansion as Hungary integrated into European aviation markets.
Low-cost carrier Wizz Air was founded in Hungary, beginning operations the following year and eventually growing into one of Europe's largest budget airlines.
Budapest's main airport was renamed in honor of composer Franz (Ferenc) Liszt.
Malév shut down abruptly on 3 February 2012 after the European Commission ruled Hungarian state aid to the airline had been illegal and had to be repaid, leaving Hungary without a national flag carrier.
Malév Hungarian Airlines (defunct 2012) · Wizz Air
Wikipedia, Malév corporate history, European Commission rulings
Aviation Firsts
Budaors Airport — Budaors (Budapest area) (1937): Planning from 1935; terminal opened 20 June 1937, becoming 'the main and only international airport of Hungary' on completion; lost international status to Ferihegy in 1950. Now used for general aviation only (light aircraft/gliders). The oldest Hungarian airport confirmed with an exact date that is still operating in any capacity today. Matyasfold Airfield, described on Budaors Airport's own Wikipedia page as 'a very small airfield... Budapest's main airport before Budaors,' is referenced as an older predecessor, but no opening year or current-status confirmation for it could be obtained this session (repeated fetch attempts failed) — left as an acknowledged gap, not guessed. · Wikipedia ↗
No source explicitly titles any Hungarian airport 'Hungary's oldest.' Budaors (1937) is the oldest confirmed with an exact date; Matyasfold is a referenced-but-undated earlier predecessor airfield that could not be verified this session.
Aero Rt. (1910): Credited by Wikipedia's MALEV article with having 'pioneered Hungarian civil aviation,' without further detail. · Wikipedia ↗
MASZOVLET / MALEV (1946): Founded 29 March 1946 as the Hungarian-Soviet Civil Air Transport Joint Stock Company (merger of Malert and Maefort, two pre-1946 Hungarian carriers, plus the Hungarian part of Aeroflot); renamed MALEV 25 November 1954. Ceased all flight activity on 3 February 2012, after 66 years of continuous operation; declared insolvent 14 February 2012. Hungary's flag carrier for 66 years, but no longer operating. · Wikipedia ↗
Wizz Air (2003): Wizz Air Hungary subsidiary founded September 2003; first flight 19 May 2004. The only currently-operating Hungarian airline confirmed this session; Wikipedia does not describe it as Hungary's 'oldest' or make any ranking claim, and a comprehensive list of Hungarian airlines could not be checked this session (fetch failed) to rule out some other still-operating pre-2003 Hungarian carrier. · W6 ↗ · Wikipedia ↗
A three-layer honest picture, not a single answer: the true 'first ever' is Aero Rt. (1910), defunct, with no documented lineage forward; MALEV/MASZOVLET (1946) was Hungary's long-running flag carrier with 66 years of continuous operation but is now defunct (2012); the oldest currently-operating Hungarian airline confirmed this session is Wizz Air (2003) — there is no unbroken lineage from Aero Rt. or MALEV to any airline operating today, and a full list of Hungarian carriers could not be checked to rule out an intermediate still-operating pre-2003 airline.
Çelebi Ground Handling (Turkey), 2006: Çelebi Ground Handling (part of Çelebi Holding, Türkiye) acquired Budapest Airport Handling Kft. (BAH), the airport's existing in-house handler, via a closed international tender reported 26 October 2006, taking over its full infrastructure and roughly 500 employees — the first documented foreign GH entrant at Budapest Airport. · EconomX ↗