Play a Game at Budapest Airport and Win €25 — While Helping Save the Planet

If you thought waiting for your flight at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport was just an exercise in staring at departure boards and overpriced sandwiches, think again. Budapest Airport has just launched something genuinely fun — and yes, there’s a prize involved.

What Is the SAF Game, Exactly?

Budapest Airport has rolled out an online game called the SAF Game, and it runs from April 27 to October 23, 2026 — so whether you’re heading home after a Budapest city break or just arrived and have some time to kill, you can jump right in. The game is built around a surprisingly interesting topic: Sustainable Aviation Fuel, or SAF for short. You’ll learn how things like used cooking oil and animal fat waste get transformed into cleaner jet fuel — and yes, that’s as wild as it sounds.

The game itself has three levels, each combining an interactive mini-game with a short quiz. Score enough points across all three rounds, and you qualify for the daily prize draw. Every single day throughout the six-month promotion period, one lucky player wins a €25 Heinemann Duty Free gift card — that’s real money to spend on perfume, whisky, chocolate, or whatever takes your fancy before you board.

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What Is SAF and Why Should You Care?

SAF stands for Sustainable Aviation Fuel, and it’s basically the aviation industry’s answer to the question: “How do we stop planes from being environmental villains?” Unlike conventional jet fuel, SAF is produced from renewable sources — things like used cooking oil, agricultural waste, and even animal fat — and it can reduce carbon emissions significantly compared to fossil-based jet fuel. Budapest Airport has actually been actively testing and rolling out SAF since 2023, working with MOL and Wizz Air, and from January 2025 it has been required by EU regulation to supply a minimum of 2% SAF to airlines.

So when you play this game, you’re not just potentially winning free shopping money — you’re getting a genuinely useful crash course in one of the most important developments in modern aviation. Your future self, sitting in a slightly less guilt-inducing airplane seat, will thank you.

The STARGATE Project: An EU-Funded Green Mission

The SAF Game isn’t just a marketing stunt pulled together over a long weekend. It’s part of the STARGATE project, a European Union-funded initiative involving a consortium of organisations committed to making airports greener and smarter. The project focuses on three big goals: decarbonising airport operations, improving local environmental quality, and making airport transport more sustainable overall. Budapest Airport is a proud participant, and this game is a direct product of that partnership.

The fact that an EU-funded sustainability project is gamified and comes with the chance to win duty-free cash is, frankly, the kind of initiative we should all be seeing more of.

Helping the Merzse Marsh: Nature Right Next Door

Here’s the part that might genuinely surprise you. Just a stone’s throw from the airport — near the eastern edge of Budapest in the 17th district — lies the Merzse Marsh Nature Reserve, one of the most undisturbed wetland ecosystems within the city limits. This 27-hectare gem is home to over 130 flowering plant species and numerous protected bird species including the grey heron and the common kestrel. It’s essentially a little pocket of wilderness squeezed between runways and residential neighbourhoods.

As part of the SAF Game initiative, Budapest Airport is actively supporting the conservation of the Merzse Marsh — meaning every time someone plays the game, the project contributes to protecting this rare urban wetland. So even if you don’t win the draw on a given day, playing still does some good in the world.

How to Play and How to Win

The rules are refreshingly simple. Find the SAF Game online, register with your email or a social login, and complete all three levels. Each level pairs a fun interactive challenge with a short knowledge quiz — score enough points to hit the threshold, and you become eligible for that day’s prize draw. You can play every day throughout the entire promotion period, which means your odds are actually decent if you keep coming back.

If you win, you’ll receive an email with a unique digital code. Take that code to the Heinemann Duty Free Customer Service Counter in the SkyCourt at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport, and they’ll load up a €25 gift card for you on the spot. The gift card works across all Heinemann outlets at the airport — including the main SkyCourt store, Terminal 2A, Terminal 2B, Pier 1, and several specialty shops like Rituals and Obsentum — and it has no expiry date, so there’s no pressure to spend it all in one go. You have up to one year from receiving your email code to collect the physical card, and any remaining balance stays on the card after a purchase.

A few things worth noting: you must be 18 or older to participate, and each email address can only win once during the entire promotion period. Budapest Airport employees and their close relatives are also excluded from the draw, though they’re welcome to play for fun.

Why This Is Worth Five Minutes of Your Time

Whether you’re a sustainability enthusiast, a casual gamer, or simply someone who would enjoy spending €25 at duty free without actually having to spend €25, the SAF Game checks all the boxes. It’s free, it takes just a few minutes, it teaches you something genuinely interesting about the future of flight, and it supports the preservation of a beautiful urban wetland you might never have heard of before today. Give it a go — and may the odds be ever in your favour, preferably before your boarding gate opens.