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Budapest Airport cashes in on manufacturing boom with 21pc growth

HUNGARY's Budapest Airport's cargo volumes grew 20.8 per cent year on year in the first quarter on the back of a surge in domestic manufacturing resulting in 235,000 tonnes of air freight.

According to the airport's cargo manager Jozsef Kossuth, the airport's success can be attributed to the likes of Samsung, Huawei, GM and GSK setting up a presence in the country, reported London's Loadstar.

Carriers such as Air China, Cargolux, Emirates, Turkish Cargo and Qatar Airways have already been cashing in on this manufacturing boom.

"Cargolux operates three full-freighter flights a week from Budapest," Mr Kossuth was quoted as saying. "Turkish and Qatar each operate three weekly freighter services."

Mr Kossuth said there had been concerns at first that export volumes between Hungary and China would not be sufficient to sustain growth. "However, with Emirates carrying 100 tonnes a week last year on daily passenger services, these concerns were swiftly put to rest," he said.

"And there has been increasing demand from forwarders for more services. We have the cargo, we have the forwarders and we have the facilities," he said.

Much of the boom is ascribed to a government drive to attract overseas companies, including tax breaks and discounts for companies setting up in Hungary.

In addition, taxi fees have been waived for the first three hours, and handling and operational costs have been kept as "favourable" and competitive levels.

"Our labour costs are one third of what you'd pay in western Europe," said Mr Kossuth. "And while they are rising, they won't be level for another 10-15 years."

The airport is currently building out its infrastructure, with two new facilities, measuring 16,000 square metres, to be made available to DHL and TNT.

"All four of the big integrators, DHL, FedEx, TNT and UPS, are here," Mr Kossuth said. "At peak periods, DHL is operating three flights a day."

In the first quarter of 2019, Budapest open a new 16,000-square metre cargo building for its own purposes, as well as new warehouses and facilities for forwarders.