The extension of the BUD Cargo City apron has been completed, less than ten months after the start of works. The development will make the handling process even more efficient, by enabling the simultaneous loading of up to four wide-body aircraft, with a nose-loading option, which is critical for freighter operations. A Qatar Cargo Boeing B777F aircraft with a special livery was the first to take possession of the new apron, during Budapest Airport’s inauguration ceremony.
Although the volume of air cargo in the first seven months of the year is 4.7% lower than the same time last year, the 16 390 tons handled in July is around 12% higher than in July 2022. The total volume of 107,000 tons of air cargo handled this year forecasts that Budapest Airport can look forward to another record year, while the development of the BUD Cargo City will enable the company and the cargo ecosystem to handle up to 300,000 tons of volume per year. What is more, last year’s record cargo volume was achieved with fewer aircraft movements, with the number of cargo flights down by 11.5 per cent compared to 2021.
Cargo developments will continue after the opening of the apron; the available warehouse space in the BUD Cargo City will be expanded by a further 6500 m², along with offices and other supporting infrastructure, to contribute to the regional importance of Budapest Airport.
Nearly one and a half million passengers in July
July was not only the fifth month in a row when traffic at the airport exceeded one million passengers, but we were close to one and a half million passengers in the seventh month too. Between January and July, we served 8.2 million passengers in total, 24 percent more than during the same period in 2022 and more than in the whole of 2021. The total annual passenger figure recorded so far in 2023 is now only 9.2% below our record year of 2019 and we expect to exceed 14.3 million passengers for the full year. Overall, this is very close to 2019, and more than 2 million more passengers than we served in 2022. With this trend, we expect a full recovery of pre-pandemic passenger numbers by the end of 2024, putting us back on a true growth trajectory.
Double capacity on the BUD Cargo City apron
The extension of the BUD Cargo City apron has been completed, less than ten months after the start of works. The development will make the handling process even more efficient, by enabling the simultaneous loading of up to four wide-body aircraft, with a nose loading option, which is critical for freighter operations. A Qatar Cargo Boeing B777F aircraft with a special livery was the first to take possession of the new apron, during Budapest Airport’s inauguration ceremony.
Although the volume of air cargo in the first seven months of the year is 4.7% lower than the same time last year, the 16 390 tons handled in July is around 12% higher than in July 2022. The total volume of 107,000 tons of air cargo handled this year forecasts that Budapest Airport can look forward to another record year, while the development of the BUD Cargo City will enable the company and the cargo ecosystem to handle up to 300,000 tons of volume per year. What is more, last year’s record cargo volume was achieved with fewer aircraft movements, with the number of cargo flights down by 11.5 percent compared to 2021.
Cargo developments will continue after the opening of the apron; the available warehouse space in the BUD Cargo City will be expanded by a further 6500 m², along with offices and other supporting infrastructure, to contribute to the regional importance of Budapest Airport.