Budapest reaches record air cargo volumes

   Budapest Airport in Hungary said it achieved a record cargo throughput in 2011, handling more than 100,000 tons for the first time.
   Flown cargo volumes grew by 6.4 percent to almost 70,000 tons, despite the flat volumes worldwide last year, while trucked volumes more than doubled to nearly 37,000 tons, taking total throughput to 106,595 tons. The airport said it also had substantial increases in 2010, when flown cargo grew by 20 percent and trucked volumes once again doubled.
   The Eastern Europe airport said the expansion in traffic volumes last year came from a number of carriers, with Turkish Airlines starting a weekly freighter service between Budapest and Istanbul, and Europe’s largest all-cargo airline, Cargolux, increasing its cargo capacity – including the introduction of its new-generation B747-8 freighter to its Budapest services. American Airlines and Qatar Airways also started passenger flights to Budapest last year, which offer significant belly load cargo capacity.