Cargo boost for Budapest Airport
Budapest Airport processed a record 72,161 tonnes of cargo from January to July 2017, which was up 19.6% on the same period last year. This broke down to 49,420 tonnes of air cargo (up 16.7%) and 22,741 tonnes of trucked cargo (up 26.5%).
“Budapest has a balanced market share, with inbound cargo at 47% in the first half of the year, and outbound cargo at 53%,” said Jozsef Kossuth, Cargo Manager, Budapest Airport.
“The high export volumes are testament to the continued industrial development of the Central European region.”
North America, Central America, and Asia were the largest markets for Budapest Airport, each accounting for 45% of total volumes, with the remaining 10% coming from the Middle East, South America, and Africa.
The Central European hub grew thanks to new cargo flows from long-haul passenger routes, from operators including Emirates and Air China, in addition to volume increase from freighter partners, including Qatar Airways Cargo, Cargolux, and Turkish Cargo.
“Budapest Airport benefits from an extensive road network to 20 European Union (EU) and non-EU countries within trucking distance of our airport,” said René Droese, Property and Cargo Director, Budapest Airport.
“Together with the airline development team at Budapest, we have leveraged a strong belly cargo network, with Air Canada having already commenced seasonal flights to Budapest, and American Airlines scheduled to launch a daily service from Philadelphia, USA, to Budapest in the summer of 2018.
“The Polish flag carrier LOT Polish Airlines will also launch six direct flights per week from Budapest to New York and Chicago in May 2018, creating an additional direct link between the USA and Hungary.”
Budapest Airport is transforming its cargo facilities, as part of the BUD:2020 Development Programme, which will include two state-of-the-art express facilities, and a dedicated freight centre called Cargo City.
