"Connect differently" is the motto for the joint presence of the Budapest, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg airports at this year's Air Cargo China trade fair, being held as part of Transport Logistic in Shanghai from 16th to 18th May 2018. These three "sister airports", all holdings of AviAlliance, are presenting their common features and the characteristics of their logistics sites and infrastructure at the fair as alternatives to the classic cargo hubs. The joint trade fair presence is at booth No. 521 in Hall N1.

The joint presentation of the three airports is built on positive and successful cooperation in the past few years. The aim of the joint presence is to present the benefits of the three non-hub airports to the specialist public as a bundled package. The Budapest, Düsseldorf and Hamburg airports cooperated for the first time in 2017 with a joint booth at Air Cargo Europe in Munich, Germany.

As an alternative to classic cargo hubs, the three airports complement one another, each bringing its own specialisations to the table. Goods flows can thus be concentrated in terms of handling, facilitating streamlined processes. This saves time when goods are being handled without using hubs. There are also possibilities for bundling the flow of goods within the three airports (triangular trade flows). The three airports benefit from state-of-the-art infrastructure to cover all expectations and requirements in the area of cargo/airfreight.

Cargo experts explain the benefits of the three airfreight sites

"Air cargo does not have to be processed at major hubs. Non-hub airports also have benefits to offer," says Alexander Müller, Head of Cargo at Hamburg Airport. "With efficient operational processes, a direct connection to the apron, and a multi-user concept, our Hamburg Airport Cargo Center, which opened in 2016, is ideally suited to provide efficient, tailored logistics solutions. In total, the HACC has capacity for around 150,000 tonnes of freight per year -- more than double the volume handled in 2017. In cooperation with Düsseldorf and Budapest airports, our position is optimal. I look forward to many shared conversations at the trade fair in Shanghai."

"The cargo flow always finds its best and most efficient way. Budapest Airport believes, we can be this 'best' distribution point in Central and Eastern Europe, and together with our sister airports DUS and HAM, we can offer new attractive combined solutions for cargo operators," says René Droese, Director Property and Cargo Budapest Airport. "The air cargo relevant industrial output is booming in our region, including export and import cargo for the automotive, electronics, and pharmaceutical industries and the very important e-commerce market. Our cargo traffic increased by 39% in two years at BUD, our plan is to attract more freighter and belly cargo routes to our airport, and to hand over the brand new Cargo City in 2019 to provide an ideal environment for further cargo growth."

"As the third largest airport in Germany," says Gerton Hulsman, Managing Director of Düsseldorf Airport Cargo GmbH, "we offer our customers 365 days per year, 24/7 tailor-made logistic solutions. Due to Düsseldorf's geographic location in one of the strongest economic regions in Europe we have 18 million inhabitants as well as numerous pharmaceutical companies within a radius of 100 kilometres. Therefore, it was clear that Düsseldorf Airport Cargo GmbH officially became Germany's first CEIV (Center of Excellence for Independent Validators) certified company in order to guarantee a flawless cool chain for pharmaceutical products. Together with Budapest and Hamburg Airport we are looking forward to expand our networks, to arrange new cooperations and to present our CEIV certificate at the Air Cargo China in Shanghai."

Contributed by Budapest Airport