TORONTO: October 14, 2018. Budapest, Düsseldorf and Hamburg airports have launched a joint marketing effort to promote their cargo operations. With the slogan ‘Connect Differently’, the three hubs will showcase their investment in new facilities at the Air Cargo Forum in Toronto from October 16 to 18.

In September Budapest Airport (BUD) started construction of its 20,000 sq. mt. Cargo City, part of a €160 million development programme ‘BUD2020’. The airport handled 141,500 tonnes of cargo between October 2017 and September 2018.

Last year, BUD opened two state-of-the-art express facilities, with a total area of 16,000 sq. mt., to process increasing express and e-commerce traffic. “Cargo-friendly airports, and particularly regional hubs, which often enjoy less congestion and more flexibility, have an important role to play in airfreight’s future,” said Budapest Airport executive director Property and Cargo René Droese.

Düsseldorf Airport Cargo (DAC) is investing in two customised airside temperature controlled dollies for the transport of pharmaceutical as part of a restructuring to handle 200,000 tonnes of cargo a year.

The airport company was the first in Germany to be certified by IATA’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) with a 450 sq. mt. cool storage facility for perishables and pharmaceuticals. “Our regions represent strong industrial power, and the logistics market is looking for new direct solutions to distribute air cargo on time and cost efficiently,” noted DAC managing director Gerton Hulsman.

Hamburg Airport (HAM) has invested €50 million in a new cargo centre that has direct apron access and capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes of freight per year. “Second-tier airports like BUD, DUS, and HAM are able to process cargo swiftly and this, combined with our customer focus and flexibility makes us an attractive option for freight customers,” explained Alexander Mueller, HAM airport head of Cargo.

“Hamburg as the third largest aviation centre in the world and with its third largest container port in Europe is also one of the largest business regions in Germany. In cooperation with Düsseldorf and Budapest airports our position is optimal,” he added.