The plans align with the airport’s ongoing BUD20:20 expansion programme, which includes the EUR32.6 Cargo City development scheduled to open next year, and come after the airport recently added new freighter operations from both AirBridgeCargo and Silk Way West Airlines.
To drive the vision forwards, a delegation from the airport recently attended the 15th China Air Cargo Summit in Shanghai where they, along with support from the Consulate General of Hungary in Shanghai, met with Chinese e-commerce companies, and China-based and international carriers.
“China plays a major part in our BUD:2020 growth programme, and we are working together with some of the country’s largest logistics and transport companies to meet rising demand for imports from China,” said René Droese, Executive Director Property and Cargo, Budapest airport.
“The new freighter routes launched this year complement our existing direct and indirect scheduled freighter and belly cargo connections with China operated by Air China, Cargolux, Emirates, Qatar Airways Cargo, and Turkish Cargo.
“The forwarder community in our region is seeking new ways to reach the Asia market; in addition to this we are witnessing an increasing demand from Chinese e-commerce companies for new, efficient distribution hubs in Eastern Europe, which amounts to a unique opportunity for us.”