Budapest Airport handles record Q1 cargo volumes

The record tonnage, which caps 40 months of continuous cargo growth at the airport, comes as Hungarian capital hub nears completion of a new warehouse and office complex for DHL Express and TNT Express.    Budapest Airport handled a record 30,060 metric tons of cargo in the first quarter of 2017, up 32.3 percent on the same period last year; air cargo was up 20.8 percent to 20,455 metric tons.
   The record tonnage, which caps 40 months of continuous cargo growth at the airport, comes as the Hungarian capital hub nears completion of a new warehouse and office complex for DHL Express and TNT Express.
   That construction is part of a 50 billion Hungarian forint (U.S. $176 million) program that will also see the construction of new facilities called Cargo City. Due for completion in 2019, Cargo City will have a handling capacity of up to 150,000 metric tons a year.
   “We are excited to embark on a new phase for cargo at Budapest Airport, these very strong figures come after 40 months of continuous growth,” said René Droese, director of property and cargo at Budapest Airport. “Our rapid growth has come from many sources, such as: our new customers, including new freighters such as Qatar Airways Cargo; the capacity increase and volume development of our current partners, including Cargolux and Turkish Cargo; and the belly cargo of our wide body passenger operators, such as Emirates Airlines and Air China. Our integrator market served by all big four players in the market (DHL, FedEx, TNT and UPS) also shows very strong growth.”