Budapest Airport has boosted its cargo relations in China after signing a strategic cooperation agreement with Ningbo International Airport & Logistics Development Company.
Ningbo International is considered an area with significant cargo potential and is located in a highly developed economic region of China, approximately 200 kilometres from Shanghai. In 2014, it handled 113,000 tonnes of freight, but plans to expand tonnage to 500,000 by 2020.
Budapest and Ningbo primarily expect an upturn in cargo relations from the cooperation and Budapest Airport property and cargo executive director, René Droese says: “The signing of this strategic cooperation agreement is of great significance, it is in the interest of both Budapest Airport and Ningbo Airport to have a direct cargo flight between China and Hungary in the near future.
“This agreement foresees even broader cooperation. Budapest would be an ideal Eastern European logistics and distribution hub for Chinese exporters with the 1,000km catchment area of our airport including no less than 19 countries,” he adds
Budapest Airport’s total cargo volume increased by two per cent in 2014, and volumes were up by 7.6 per cent at the end of October, compared to 2014 figures.
Chinese cargo traffic is growing dynamically, with the relaunch of the direct flight between Beijing and Budapest by Air China playing a key role.
The flight commutes four times weekly between the two capitals, carrying 10-12 tonnes of bellyhold cargo on each service.
Almost the entire cargo capacity has been booked by Hungarian exporters transporting primarily electronics and pharmaceutical products to China, exceeding the volume of Chinese goods brought to Hungary by approximately a quarter.
