What could be better than taking over the management of a company where business is thriving? This is what happened to Francois Berisot, who became CEO of Budapest Airport on 06JUN24. Above all, air cargo is the showpiece. 226,000 tons are expected to be handled there, this year. But the airport wants more. This was made clear by Head of Cargo, Jozsef Kossuth, in his presentation at the BUD Cargo Day, attended by well over 100 participants.
When Jozsef started his career at the airport, 10 years ago, only around 5 freighters a week landed at Budapest Liszt Ferenc. According to traffic data, this has grown to 70 per week, today. Adrián Palagyi, BUD Cargo Development Manager, even speaks of 76 weekly freighter services. These are supplemented by 28-30 flights operated by the big integrator boys: DHL, UPS, and FedEx.
Next cargo terminal announced
All in all, it is an enormous development that has put Budapest on the global air freight map. Not least, because of the investments in infrastructure. For example, a new Cargo City was erected, which offers a handling area of 42,000 m², enabling a throughput of 300,000 tons per year. Yet although the capacity is not yet exhausted, BUD Cargo is already planning the next step: “We want to build another cargo terminal of between 15,000 m² and 20,000 m²,” announced cargo chief Kossuth. This will be complemented by two or three stands for freighters, directly in front of the building, to facilitate the rapid handling and throughput of shipments, he added.
Number one cargo airport in CEE
At the conference, representatives of the entire industry confirmed that Budapest is the most dynamic cargo airport in Central and Eastern Europe. Airport boss, Berisot cited three pillars as the foundation of the airport and its cargo division’s success to date: “The outstanding infrastructure with state-of-the-art facilities, the excellent air and road connections, and a local cargo community whose members collaborate closely and pull together despite competition.”
Positive prospects
Marcell Nemeth, Senior Manager at auditing and consulting company, KPMG, explained in his presentation that the expected growth targets of annually 3%-4%, have a real basis. Together with Warsaw, BUD has developed into a gateway for e-commerce traffic between China and the EU. This trend will continue, further producing above-market growth figures. Every working day, 5,000 tons of e-commerce shipments are flown to Europe from Hong Kong alone; most of them from Temu and Shein, according to Olaf Oczkos from the trade journal, Palettenreport. Not all of them land in BUD, as there are also e-commerce airports in Liège, Madrid, Frankfurt, Hahn, Leipzig and Vienna, but many do. eTrade will continue to grow strongly, boosted by expanding economic performance and decreasing inflationary pressure in the ECC countries, which induce demand towards air cargo services, predicts KPMG expert Nemeth. This goes hand in hand with private and government consumption, which are picking up pace. Disruptions in ocean shipping, as seen in the Red Sea since last fall, prompt companies to shift cargo to air transport for security reasons.
Imbalances create opportunities, states Jozsef Kossuth
However, the import-driven business, as seen in Budapest, also implies some disadvantages. For example, the freighters on westbound routes are full, while the return flights lack shipments. Yet, Jozsef Kossuth also sees this imbalance as an opportunity for European air freight agents. “Empty main decks of freighters or lower decks of passenger aircraft, are a big opportunity for forwarders because this enables them to ship goods eastbound at a reasonable price.”
The panel ‘The Customer View,’ illustrated the dependency of the air freight industry on external circumstances it cannot influence, as e-mobility shows. Han Yunkyn, Manager SK on / Europe Procurement, complained that demand for e-cars and their batteries is lacking. Eva Gerendeli, VP Samsung SDI Hungary, added to this that the charger landscape in Hungary and Eastern Europe is still inferior, which prevents customers from buying an e-car. Yet, both as well as Viktor Török, Head of Logistics at Bosch Hungary, are convinced that electric mobility is the future and that investments in this area would pay off in the medium term, affecting industrial settlements and supply chains.
At present, however, electric cars are a rare species on Budapest’s streets – unlike Norway, where every second car is now an electric vehicle.
