The arrival of the first B747-8F on October 17th, 2011 marks a new milestone and the beginning of a new era in Cargolux's highly successful operations at Budapest Airport (BUD). Cargolux began operating regular B747-400F freighter services into BUD in 2002, initially with three weekly flights, and which have since grown to five per week.
Now Budapest Airport can become one of just a handful of airports around the world able to welcome the first new-generation cargo aircraft, the B747-8F, on a scheduled basis, thanks to its continuing relationship with Cargolux. The flight this Monday was also a premier with a Boeing 747-8F aircraft: it was the first commercial roundtrip (LUX-HKG-BUD-LUX), with this new Boeing 747-8F type ever
Budapest Airport was recently approved as an operating base for Boeing's newest and largest aircraft, the 747-8F, making the airport capable of handling any aircraft currently operating around the world. The approval follows several months of preparations and modifications to the airport apron, which has been redesigned to accommodate the additional 5.6-metre length of the 747-8F, compared with its predecessor, the 747-400F.
The preparations were timed to meet the expected delivery dates of customer Cargolux's first 747-8F.
Christa Soltau, Vice-President for Cargo and Logistics at Budapest Airport (BUD), said: 'The Civil Aviation Authority has audited and approved all of the preparations, which means that any of the existing aircraft types currently operated anywhere in the world can land and be handled at BUD.
'Our preparations to handle the 747-8 are partly a response to the needs of our valued customer, but also reflect our commitment to providing the best handling infrastructure available anywhere in the world, and to continue to enhance the position and reputation of BUD as a world-class cargo airport.'
Anthony McNichol, Country Manager for Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic and Regional Manager CEE at Cargolux, said: 'We appreciate the efforts made by BUD to successfully prepare for the arrival of the 747-8F, which demonstrates the value of the strong relationship and partnership between ourselves and our airport partners. BUD continues to be an important gateway for Cargolux, with strong potential for further development, and we look forward to continuing and expanding our services and partnership there in the future.'
