Budapest Airport can become one of Europe’s main cargo hubs: Orbán cabinet wants to buy it

According to the CEO of PMI Logistics Solutions Ltd., the Budapest Airport is a good investment for the government because it may become one of Europe’s main cargo hubs if the Orbán cabinet spends the required amount of money on its development. Péter Ilg added that Hungary’s bridge role between the East and the West, Asia and Europe, and good relationship with the Eastern powers, including China, can help strengthen Budapest Airport’s regional role.

Will Budapest become Europe’s cargo transport hub?

According to index.hu, Budapest may become the European hub of cargo transport like Leipzig. One of the main catalysts of that goal may be the Chinese relationship. Péter Ilg, the CEO of PMI Logistics Solutions Ltd., said the Hungarian government conducts complex negotiations with the owner of the Budapest Airport because the Orbán cabinet would like to become the majority stakeholder of Hungary’s main airgate.

Therefore, they sold non-strategic, minority shares in other companies like the Vienna Insurance Group (from 45% to 10%), Erste Bank Hungary (from 15% to 0%) and Yettel Magyarország Ltd. (from 20% to 0%).

Budapest will serve as a bridge between East and West

Budapest Airport’s cargo traffic exceeded the 2019 maximum by 3.8%. Thus, it was a record-high in 2023. Concerning passenger traffic, 90.9% of the 2019 level came back. He believes Orbán’s key motivation to buy back the airport is not the passenger department but the potential in the shipping segment.

BUD Cargo City, Budapest, Hungary. Photo: facebook.com/budapestairport

Ilg said the government’s investment would return in 20 years, which is typical in logistics. He believes that the airport’s price, EUR 4 billion, is considered high. However, Budapest Airport is now among Europe’s 20 biggest cargo airports.

Budapest’s “career” can be similar to Leipzig’s. The international airport has two runways, just like Budapest’s, but the shipping branch exceeds 1.5 million tonnes, making the German city the second biggest behind Frankfurt am Main. Budapest has the potential to reach Munich and advance Vienna concerning cargo traffic since it has a goods management capacity of 300 tonnes.

Photo: www.bud.hu

Ilg added that Budapest Airport might become the bridge between West and East, Europe and the Far East. Relationships with South Korean and Chinese cargo companies are perfect, and Budapest may become their regional hub.

Read also:

• Summer schedule: Dozens of weekly flights between Budapest and adored European destination – Details in THIS article
• It will be hard to reach Budapest Airport in April: road maintenance begins – Read more HERE