Orbán’s Summer Vacation: Private Plane Arrival, Surrounded by Friends’ Superyachts

Viktor Orbán (in the middle in white shirt) and his entourage boarding the private plane. Photo: Kornél Brassai / Átlátszó

The plane was a Pilatus PC-12 NGX, the latest version of the Swiss-made aircraft. It cruises at 540 km/h, reaches 9,100 meters, and has a range of 3,269 km. The $6 million single-engine turboprop can be flown by one pilot, carry up to nine passengers, and take off or land on short grass or gravel runways, making even remote island airports accessible.

Interior of a Pilatus PC-12 NGX type plane. Photo: 247aviation.co.uk

Átlátszó identified the plane as Czech-registered OK-BIF, operated by Harsánylejtő Ltd., managed by Anna Ungár, Mária Schmidt’s daughter, and owned by the Schmidt-Ungár family’s BIF Plc company. Schmidt, ranked Hungary’s second most influential woman in public life by Forbes in 2025, is a prominent pro-Orbán historian, director of Budapest’s House of Terror museum, and head of a network of educational institutions. She has amassed wealth worth over €225 million (HUF 89.1 billion).

Flight data showed the plane returning from Rijeka to Budapest on August 21, 2025, landing at Budaörs instead of Budapest’s main airport. Átlátszó reporters went to the site, saw armed bodyguards, and photographed the plane.

Soon, a convoy arrived carrying Orbán, personal communications adviser Fanni Kaminsky, political director Balázs Orbán, and press secretary János Máté — the PM and Kaminsky later photographed on the yacht seen near the island of Brač.

Viktor Orbán and Fanni Kaminsky aboard the yacht “Hot Stuff” in Croatia. Photo: Péter Magyar / Facebook

The plane frequently flies between Budapest and Rijeka, suggesting it mainly serves the Schmidt family’s mansion in Opatija, where Orbán also vacationed in summer 2023.

On August 25, Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás said Orbán’s aides accompanied him “for work reasons” and claimed they covered their own expenses. After the yacht photos surfaced, Orbán released a picture of himself and his aides, supposedly working on an undisclosed “victory plan” to win the 2026 parliamentary elections.

Mária Schmidt’s company referred to Czech operator OK Aviation Wings, part of OK AVIATION Group, saying the plane is rented out by this company when not used by its owners. The companies did not disclose costs, discounts, or who paid the bill for Orbán’s trip.

The episode is embarrassing for Orbán, who tries to cultivate a modest image and recently posted photos of himself flying on budget airlines.

Viktor Orbán and wife Anikó Lévai on a WizzAir budget flight to Bilbao. Photo: Ákos Hadházy / Facebook

Other Friends’ Superyachts Arrive

After arriving by private plane, Orbán and his aides set sail on a rented yacht named “Hot Stuff.” Soon after, however, Átlátszó spotted much more expensive vessels heading toward the area near Brač. 

The use of these luxury superyachts — Seagull MRD, Lady MRD, and Rose d’Or — by Hungary’s ruling elite is well-documented. As Orbán vacationed near the Croatian island, these superyachts repeatedly appeared in his vicinity. The distance between Brač and the superyachts’ positions was often just a few kilometers or a single island — easily bridged, since the prime minister was traveling by sailboat.

Because Orbán’s group rented a yacht with its tracker switched off, his exact route can only be reconstructed from photos posted by Orbán and his allies on social media, but the three superyachts’ movements remain traceable.

The 41.93m/137’7″ motor yacht ‘Lady MRD’ built by the Italian shipyard Benetti. Photo: yachtcharterfleet.com

The first superyacht spotted near Orbán’s sailboat was Lady MRD, a 2015 Benetti Crystal 140, 42 meters long and 9 meters wide. It has five cabins for 10 guests, is served by a crew of seven, and features a jacuzzi and pool on its top deck. It was listed for sale in 2017 for €20.9 million (about HUF 6.8 billion) and is still available for charter starting at €196,000 per week.

Past guests include Hungary’s richest man and Orbán’s childhood friend Lőrinc Mészáros, state railway CEO Róbert Homolya, and Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who brought along his family.

The 49.9m/163’9″ ‘Seagull MRD’ motor yacht built by the Italian shipyard Benetti. Photo: yachtcharterfleet.com

Another superyacht, Seagull MRD, has also been in the Adriatic. It first appeared in pro-Orbán circles in 2021 — even used by Mészáros’s son — and sails under the Maltese flag. According to the Maltese registry, both Lady MRD and Seagull MRD are owned by L&L Charter and Mészáros ally businessman László Szíjj.

Valued at roughly €30 million (HUF 10.5 billion) at the time, it is now up for sale for €24.95 million (HUF 9.9 billion). Built in 2020, the 49-meter yacht has six suites for 12 guests, nine crew, and two pools. Weekly high-season charters cost €282,000 — about HUF 113 million — and slightly less off-season.

Seagull MRD departed Split on August 26 and docked at the island of Hvar on the 27th — completing yet another of its many Hvar–Trogir loops this summer.

The 62m/203’5″ motor yacht ‘Rose d’Or’ was built by the Italian shipyard Sanlorenzo. Photo: yachtcharterfleet.com

Then, the Rose d’Or, a superyacht more often seen on the French Riviera, also joined the Adriatic sea near Orbán’s vacation spot. This 62-meter Sanlorenzo superyacht has six cabins for 12 guests, who are served by up to 13 crew members. It belongs to the leasing arm of Hungary’s MBH Bank, partly owned by Mészáros and the Hungarian state, and is valued at €68.3 million (HUF 27 billion), according to SuperYachtFan. Previously, Rose d’Or was owned by Russian oligarch Konstatin Strukov.

This superyacht left Cannes on August 21, passed Malta, and docked in Montenegro on August 27. So far, only Mészáros and his family have been photographed aboard, making it likely they are the ones currently using it.

Both Mészáros and Szíjj — the owner of the other two superyachts — made their fortunes through public procurements and government contracts during Viktor Orbán’s consecutive governments. Mészáros has been Hungary’s richest businessman for years, with economic site Világgazdaság estimating his 2025 wealth at €3.6 billion (HUF 1,422 billion). Szíjj currently ranks as Hungary’s seventh-richest, with an estimated €960 million (HUF 370 billion). 

The yacht routes in late August, during Orbán’s vacation in Croatia (the red line shows the Rose d’Or, the black line shows the Lady MRD, and the blue line shows the Seagull MRD). Illustration: Átlátszó

Shockingly, it wasn’t just the yachts: A Hungarian government plane, officially a military aircraft, also landed in Zadar, Croatia, on August 27 before returning to the Kecskemét airbase. According to the Ministry of Defense, the plane was only on a training flight and carried no passengers.

Orbán could not have been on board, as one of Átlátszó’s readers spotted him that same day 280 kilometers away on the island of Lastovo, at a pub called Café Club Magic. They even sent photos showing Orbán wearing his usual Tommy Bahama floral vacation shirt.

Viktor Orbán aboard the yacht “Hot Stuff” in Croatia. Photo: Péter Magyar / Facebook

Subsequently, Balázs Dénes, a Hungarian lawyer and head of the Berlin-based human rights group Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties), told Tilos Radio and Átlátszó that while on vacation on August 28, he accidentally ran into Viktor Orbán and Lőrinc Mészáros on the island of Brač, in the small village of Bobovišća na Moru. Orbán and Mészáros were apparently in the middle of a meeting.

The lawyer also took photos with the pair but hasn’t released them yet.