Linking the cargo world: Budapest Airport stages successful BUD Air Cargo Day 2022

At the BUD Air Cargo Day 2022: René Droese, Chief Development Officer, Budapest Airport; Chris Dinsdale, CEO Budapest Airport; and anna.aero’s Ross Falconer. Dinsdale said: “Three years ago we opened BUD Cargo City, investing €50 million with the goal of becoming the leading cargo hub in the Central and Eastern European region. We have been working hard to achieve this with the entire cargo community in Hungary and are delivering record volumes now.”

The BUD Air Cargo Day 2022, with the theme of ‘Linking the cargo world’, took place in Budapest Airport’s Terminal 1 on 15 September.

Attended by more than 140 delegates, the event featured a packed agenda covering the challenges, opportunities, development plans, and outlook for the future across the global logistics and air cargo market. Despite the actual challenging global environment for the logistics and air cargo industry, participants of the event agreed that Budapest Airport and its cargo partners have long-term stable development opportunities. However, over the continuation of their intense cargo development work it is key to be flexible, cooperative and to have a customer-oriented mindset for the future in the interest of “cargo success”.

The BUD Air Cargo team: József Kossuth, Head of Cargo, Budapest Airport; René Droese, Chief Development Officer, Budapest Airport; and Adrián Palágyi, Cargo Development Specialist, Budapest Airport, with anna.aero’s Ross Falconer at the BUD Air Cargo Day 2022. Kossuth explained: “We are currently handling 195,000 tonnes of cargo per annum, with volumes between January and August 2022 at +47% above pre-COVID 2019 levels. We have a strong commitment to cargo development and excellent cooperation with our cargo community – that is one of our core strengths.”

In addition to the keynotes and panel discussions, the day included the BUD Cargo Awards Ceremony 2021 and a Hungarian Government cargo aircraft visit on the T1 Apron, concluding with a cocktail reception featuring a special ‘Cargo Bar’.

anna.aero’s Ross Falconer with Rob Veltman, Vice President Cargo Europe, Qatar Airways Cargo. Qatar Airways Cargo was ‘Airline Sponsor’ of the BUD Air Cargo Day 2022. Veltman highlighted the strategic importance of Budapest and the Central and Eastern European region for Qatar Airways Cargo.

Chris Dinsdale, CEO Budapest Airport, opened the event by highlighting the “excellent infrastructure, outstanding cargo connectivity and cohesive community” that have contributed to 2.3 million tonnes of cargo passing through BUD since opening 70 years ago. He said: “Three years ago we opened BUD Cargo City, investing €50 million with the goal of becoming the leading cargo hub in the Central and Eastern European region. We have been working hard to achieve this with the entire cargo community in Hungary and are delivering record volumes now.”

René Droese, Chief Development Officer, Budapest Airport, moderated a panel discussion on ‘Recent challenges and trends of the global logistics and air cargo market, outlook for the future’, featuring participants from LOT Polish Airlines, TIACA, Qatar Airways Cargo, and Cargolux.

Éva Kállai, Deputy State Secretary for Transport Strategy, Ministry of Technology and Industry, followed with a welcome address emphasising the importance of BUD Cargo City for transporting goods between Europe and Asia along the ‘Air Silk Road’. “The Ministry is an important partner to facilitate the continued growth of air cargo in Hungary and the Director General of Civil Aviation supports the development of new air cargo lines,” said Kállai.

The conference featured a keynote from Steven Polmans, Chairman, The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), as well as special presentations by Brendan Sullivan, Global Head of Cargo, International Air Transport Association (IATA); Rob Veltman, Vice President Cargo Europe, Qatar Airways Cargo; József Kossuth, Head of Cargo, Budapest Airport; and Árpád Demény, Managing Director, Aeroplex.

The BUD Air Cargo Day 2022 included a Hungarian Government cargo aircraft visit on the T1 Apron.

József Kossuth, Head of Cargo, Budapest Airport, said: “We are currently handling 195,000 tonnes of cargo per annum, with volumes between January and August 2022 at +47% above pre-COVID 2019 levels. We have a strong commitment to cargo development and excellent cooperation with our cargo community – that is one of our core strengths. Ongoing actions include expansion of our cargo apron and the planned expansion of handling facilities by Q4 2023, with a new cloud-based cargo community system to go live by Q3 2023.”

He added: “We would like to thank all of our sponsors and partners, and the over 140 delegates in attendance, for making the BUD Air Cargo Day 2022 such a resounding success.”

There was also a series of interactive panel discussions, which provided an ideal forum to discuss important topics including:

Recent challenges and trends of the global logistics and air cargo market, outlook for the future
Reaction of air cargo service providers to the actual challenges, development plans
Trends, outlooks and opportunities of e-commerce for the air cargo industry and its cargo service demand
Challenges, changes, trends of the MRO business

The broad range of high-level panellists represented organisations including: TIACA, IATA, Cargolux, LOT Polish Airlines, Menzies Aviation, Celebi Aviation Holding, Kuehne+Nagel, Airmax Cargo, R-BAG Group, Universal Translink Airline, DHL Express Hungary, cargo-partner, ViaEurope, and Lufthansa Technik Budapest.

József Kossuth, Head of Cargo, Budapest Airport, moderated a panel discussion on ‘Trends, outlooks and opportunities of e-commerce for the air cargo industry and its cargo service demand’, featuring participants from DHL Express Hungary, ViaEurope, National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary, cargo-partner, and Universal Translink Airline.

BUD Cargo Awards 2021 winners

Best Developing Regular Freighter Operator 2021: Qatar Airways Cargo
Best Developing Integrator 2021: DHL Express
Best Developing Cargo Charter Operator 2021: cargo-partner
Best New Cargo Charter Operator 2021: HEPA (Hungarian Export Promotion Agency) / Wizz Air
GSA of the Year 2021: R-BAG Group
E-commerce Service Provider of the Year 2021: CECZ / UTA / GHIBLI
Best Developing Belly Cargo Airline 2021: Emirates SkyCargo
Cargo Community Award 2021: Ferenc Kovács
Navigátorvilág Special Award 2021: Rene Droese, Chief Development Officer, Budapest Airport

Budapest Airport wins prestigious Air Cargo News Award

Budapest Airport’s József Kossuth, Head of Cargo; Réka Sebestyén, Head of Property Development and Leasing; René Droese, Chief Development Officer; and Adrián Palágyi, Cargo Development Specialist proudly accept the recognition of ‘Cargo Hub of the Year 2021’ at the prestigious Air Cargo News Awards.

Budapest Airport’s outstanding cargo connectivity and community were recognised at the prestigious Air Cargo News Awards 2022, which took place in London on 16 September. The airport was awarded as ‘Cargo Hub of the Year 2021’ in a competitive category in which Brussels, Liege and Singapore Changi airports were also nominated.

Commenting on the award, René Droese, Chief Development Officer, Budapest Airport, said: “The construction of BUD Cargo City proved to be a well-timed decision, providing secure air cargo handling during the pandemic while also giving us a competitive advantage in the period that followed. Our air freight centre is now registering record volumes, and it has the leading cargo growth in the Central and Eastern European region. We are a reliable point for all stakeholders in the supply chain and therefore the Hungarian economy, not to mention the more than 12,000 employees working in the field of air cargo transport. On behalf of the Budapest Airport cargo team, I would like to thank our air freight partners and Air Cargo News for this great recognition.”