As part of the €160m BUD:2020 Development Programme at the airport, €32.6m is being invested into a new 20,000 square metre cargo handling facility and new dedicated B747-8F freighter stands.
These facilities are hoped to centralise cargo operations and expand the airport’s handling capacity to cope with increasing air cargo volumes at the airport as throughput continues to grow. In just two years, cargo volumes grew by an unprecedented 39%, to a record 127,145 tonnes in 2017. A further 15.5% increase in tonnage was recorded between January and August this year compared to the same period in 2017.
The BUD:2020 programme also saw two state-of-the-art express facilities open last year, with a total area of 16,000 square metres, to meet demand from the growing express and e-commerce business.
“This is an exciting milestone for the Hungarian cargo community. Following on from our infrastructure developments for the integrator market, our aim is to provide the ideal environment for air cargo with our Cargo City project,” said René Droese, Executive Director Property and Cargo at Budapest airport.
“With the start of AirBridgeCargo and Silk Way West Airlines services in 2018, we now have five freighter operators at BUD. Volumes from our existing full-freighter partners, such as Cargolux, Turkish Cargo, and Qatar Airways Cargo, are also increasing," she said, adding that belly cargo services have been increased by LOT, American Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Air China and Air Canada Rouge.
CEO of Budapest airport,Jost Lammers, said, “Air cargo is of strategic importance to BUD, and Cargo City will ensure that we continue to provide our growing customer base with efficient, modern facilities, so that they can thrive in our booming catchment area.”
Budapest also welcomed Kuehne + Nagel to its cargo community this summer, and saw four new North American routes launched, connecting New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia in the USA, and Toronto, Canada to Budapest.