Hungary’s largest airport is beginning to establish itself as a regional air freight hub. It handled 127,145 tonnes of cargo in 2017. Starting this year, two freight carriers plan to operate flights to the U.S. from Budapest Airport (BUD), and next year, the airport will open a 20,000 square metre freight centre which will expand BUD’s cargo handling capacity to 250,000 tonnes per year.
The airport processed a record 127,145 tonnes of freight cargo in 2017, up 13.4 percent over the previous year.
Budapest has been in discussion with Asian carriers, with the intention of attracting more e-commerce traffic. “Our cooperation agreement with STO Express and EKOL Logistics last year is testament to our continuous commitment to strengthening links between China and the European Union,” said René Droese, director of business unit property and cargo for Budapest Airport.
The airport covers a large cargo catchment zone, from Ukraine to the Czech Republic, and from Poland to Bulgaria.