Work starts on Budapest’s Cargo City

Construction work has started on Budapest Airport’s (BUD) new dedicated freight centre, Cargo City, with the facility due to be handed over in the fourth quarter of 2019.
The €32.6m investment in a 20,000 sq m cargo handling facility and dedicated freighter stands will centralise cargo operations at the Hungarian hub and expand the airport’s handling capacity.
The airport’s cargo volume growth of 39% between December 2015 and December 2017 saw BUD process a record 127,145 tonnes last year, with a further 15.5% increase in tonnage between January and August 2018 compared with the same period in 2017.
Cargo City will accommodate freighters operated by carriers including AirBridgeCargo, Cargolux, Silk Way West, Turkish Cargo, and Qatar Airways Cargo, as well as passenger aircraft belly cargo. 
As part of the €160m BUD:2020 Development Programme, Budapest Airport opened two express facilities in 2017, with a total area of 16,000 sq m to handle increasing volumes from the 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.
Droese added: “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.
“The cargo connectivity of BUD is also continuously expanding via the new belly cargo services of LOT, American Airlines, and Qatar Airways, as well as Emirates, Air China, and Air Canada Rouge.”
Jost Lammers, chief executive of Budapest Airport, 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 this summer welcomed Kuehne + Nagel to its cargo community and saw four new North American routes launched, connecting New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia in the USA, and Toronto, Canada to Budapest.