The foundation stone for Budapest Airport’s future Cargo Center was laid last September, encompassing 21,600 sq. m handling space and 11,200 sq. m office capacity. Although operational only next September, the facility is already “very well booked,” confirms Mihaly Hardy, Head of Communication at Budapest Airport. This is a clear indication of the location’s attractiveness for the cargo business.
Chapeau! That’s money well spent. BUD’s Cargo complex, scheduled to be operational by next autumn, once completed will have cost 32.6 million, says the airport. An expenditure, this becomes apparent, which will be amortized quite rapidly. Seen by prominent tenants that have meanwhile signed contracts to move in, with other potential clients, not so well known, considering following suit. “The interest of forwarders, airlines and handling companies to give up their off-airport stations and offices and relocate their activities into BUD Cargo City instead is encouraging,” confirms Mr Hardy.
Act of liberation
A well-known name in the global forwarding world that decided to rent space in the new building is Austrian logistics company cargo-partner. Their Hungarian subsidiary, squeezed into an outdated
and much-too-small handling facility for many years, located 3 km from the airport, compares the upcoming relocation with an act of liberation. Thanks to the modern on-airport located freight
facility, cargo-partner can offer their air freight customers further improved, faster and thus more competitive services on a larger scale, including ‘On-Board Courier’ solutions, charter
options or temperature-controlled cargo transports as of next September. Within BUD’s upcoming new Cargo Village, they decided to secure themselves a total of combined 1,800 sq. m handling and
office space. This, the management holds, will give Hungary’s number one air freight agent ample room for expanding the cargo business in the years to come.
Win-win
Another prominent name that decided to move from outside the airport to within the fence is logistics giant DB Schenker. They rented 700 sq. m of warehouse space along with a further 200 sq. m of
office space in the new Cargo City. DB Schenker also already operates a total of 52,000 sq. m warehouse space in Hungary for sea, land and air transport.
"When we first heard about the BUD Cargo City project at DB Schenker, we knew right away that we wanted to be part of it. On the one hand, Budapest Airport is developing very quickly, and an
operational presence within the airport gives us an edge on increasing market demands. On the other hand, by relocating our air freight transit warehouse to BUD Cargo City, we can create space in
our warehouse in Szigetszentmiklós to keep up with the needs of our rapidly developing land transport collectors,” stated Sándor Barényi, Managing Director of DB Schenker Kft. He added: "This is
a unique opportunity to both pursue our development agenda and directly contribute to the well-deserved growth of Budapest Airport."
BUD becomes kind of sub-hub for CV
As to the airport development: Next to low cost traffic, cargo flights are constantly increasing at BUD. Latest airline upping their flights was Cargolux that just doubled their weekly services
from 3 to 6. “Budapest is fast emerging as one of Central and Eastern Europe’s major cargo gateways, a position that Cargolux is keen to contribute to,” reads the carrier’s press release
announcing the doubling of flights.
Richard Forson, Cargolux President and Chief Executive Officer adds to this: “Budapest has proved over the years, to be an important transit hub for cargo in Europe and an increasingly important
destination on Cargolux routes. These enhanced frequencies will enable both parties to explore new markets while cementing Cargolux and Budapest airport’s positions as frontrunners in the
European air freight market.”
While one of the three additional CV flights is operated on the route HKG-BUD-LUX, the other 2 new connections stopping over at BUD link Zhengzhou with Luxembourg.
In total, both the existing and additional frequencies will considerably increase Cargolux’s service offerings to and from the region.
Malev’s misfortune proved to be BUD’s luck
Hungary has a great advantage in acquiring new airlines. Since the bankruptcy of their national airline Malev, a home carrier is missing. This makes Budapest a potential candidate for
international airlines seeking traffic rights in Central or Eastern Europe. Due to the absence of a national carrier, the Hungarian government can very generously concede traffic rights to
foreign airlines. This also explains the rise of Budapest Airport to a fast-growing hub for freight and passenger traffic alike. Not to forget intelligent and far-sighted decisions by BUD’s
management.
Heiner Siegmund
Write a comment