Budapest Airport (BUD) celebrated record-breaking air cargo volumes for 2018 at its 12th annual Awards Ceremony and applauded top-achieving air cargo partners.  

More than 300 guests attended the event, and winners from new and established partners in the air cargo sector were chosen for outstanding business success in categories including Best Performing Long Time Full-Freighter Cargo Airline, Best Performing Newcomer Full Freighter Cargo Airline, Best Developing Full-Service Carrier, Highest Capacity Increase Long-Haul 2018 and Best Performing Integrator.
“Last year was the year of cargo at BUD for many reasons: record cargo volumes, increasing connectivity, and now that the construction of BUD Cargo City is in full swing, we are on track to establishing a cargo-friendly environment,” said René Droese, Director Business Unit Property and Cargo, Budapest Airport.
“This dynamic cargo development is driven by our excellent cargo partners and the gala is an opportunity where we can say thanks and express our appreciation for their endless efforts.
“The awards represent BUD’s unique and well-balanced cargo customer portfolio, and the continued development of the three main market segments; full freighters, belly cargo, and integrators.”
Cargolux represents the highest full freighter air cargo capacity at BUD in 2018 and after 16 years of continued scheduled Boeing B-747F operation, they took home the award for Best Performing Long Time Full-Freighter Cargo Airline.
AirBridgeCargo Airlines was awarded the prize for Newcomer Full Freighter Cargo Airline 2018 after it selected BUD as centre for supplying the Central and Eastern European region in 2018, connecting BUD to its worldwide network with strong cargo volumes in its starting year.
LOT Polish Airlines handled one of the highest volumes of belly cargo towards North America (New York and Chicago) in its first service year, and won the award for Best Developing Full-service Carrier.
Qatar Airways won the Highest Capacity Increase Long-haul title after the airline expanded their full freighter services with daily widebody belly cargo services to Doha, and achieved the highest air cargo volume growth in 2018.
The award for Best Performing Integrator 2018 went to DHL, which was the largest cargo partner at BUD in terms of number of cargo flights and volumes handled in their express complex at BUD.
Air cargo volumes at BUD have increased 60 per cent since 2015, and in 2018, BUD processed 146,113 tonnes of air cargo, showing the highest year-on-year growth rate to date, at 14.9 per cent.
In order to meet rising demand, EUR32.6 million has been invested in a 20,000 m2 dedicated freight centre called BUD Cargo City to expand BUD’s total cargo handling capacity to 250,000 tonnes per year, and an additional 10,000 m2 forwarder building is also planned.
Part of the BUD Cargo City development is a cargo apron of 32,000 m2, located by Runway 2, where two Boeing B-747-8F freighters can be serviced simultaneously.