# Hévíz–Balaton Airport (SOB)

> Sármellék, HU · IATA: SOB · ICAO: LHSM · Medium Airport

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `SOB` |
| ICAO | `LHSM` |
| City | Sármellék |
| Country | HU |
| Type | Medium Airport |
| Elevation | 124 m |
| Cargo | ❌ |
| GPS | 46.68639, 17.15908 |

## Description

Hungary's Lake Balaton has a second face in winter: with the holiday charters gone, Hévíz-Balaton Airport (SOB/LHSM) at Sármellék falls quiet, and its cargo role is negligible in either season. The airport has no dedicated freight terminal, no cold-chain facility and no based cargo carrier, so air freight is limited to belly space on seasonal charter flights. A government-backed modernisation worth about EUR 7.4 million is currently renewing the runway, taxiway, apron lighting and navigation aids, while the upgraded terminal is sized for roughly 200,000 passengers a year. Since 2025 the airport has been managed within a state regional airport holding alongside Budapest and Debrecen, and scheduled services to Germany, Israel and the Visegrád countries are announced for 2026, with Polish operator ITAKA running Saturday charters from 13 June to 12 September 2026. Shippers in western Hungary route air cargo through Budapest (BUD) and its cargo city, some 190 km away on the M7 motorway. Zagreb (ZAG) and Ljubljana (LJU) are practical cross-border alternatives, both a few hours away by road feeder service.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/hevizbalaton-airport-sob](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/hevizbalaton-airport-sob)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/hevizbalaton-airport-sob](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/hevizbalaton-airport-sob)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/airports/hevizbalaton-airport-sob/llm-summary*