First Seoul-Budapest Cargo Flight Launched

Budapest Airport welcomed the first direct Seoul-Budapest cargo flight this Thursday; Korean Air’s Boeing 777F type cargo aircraft taxied to the apron of BUD’s logistics base at 10:40. A press release by the airport management company says this aerial connection is not only an excellent opportunity for the large Korean companies operating in Hungary, but will also constitute a significant competitive advantage for the Hungarian economy in the import-export market.

The first scheduled South Korean cargo flight to Budapest was welcomed at Budapest Airport’s new, recently opened logistics base. Going forward, the flight will commute on the Seoul-Budapest-Frankfurt-Seoul route twice a week. On May 23 this year, the carrier will also launch a passenger flight to the South Korean capital, which will operate three times a week during the summer schedule.

South Korea became the largest investor in Hungary last year. The factories of numerous companies significant from the perspective of air cargo, such as Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDI, Hanon Systems, SK Innovation and Doosan, are located at a transportation distance of just 1.5–2 hours from the BUD Cargo City. The new flight will provide new, efficient and high-quality transport solutions for these businesses, as well as efficient transportation opportunities for small and medium-sized Hungarian enterprises to Korea and into Korean Air’s entire network, via Seoul.

Levente Magyar, deputy minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade emphasized during the flight inauguration ceremony that “2019 was a special year in relations between Hungary and South Korea. The two countries celebrated the 30th anniversary of establishing formal diplomatic relations, and South Korea became the largest investor in Hungary, implementing projects to a value of EUR 2.5 billion, which is nearly half of the total investment portfolio. Trade also increased by one-third, compared to the previous year.”

According to Kyoo Sik Choe, the Ambassador of South Korea to Hungary, “Korean Air’s new scheduled cargo flight and the direct Seoul-Budapest passenger service to be launched in May further strengthen commercial and diplomatic ties between Hungary and South Korea... On behalf of the Embassy, we will do everything we can to ensure that these new aerial connections should be successful, for both countries.”

In January 2020, Budapest Airport opened its new cargo base, the BUD Cargo City, which increases the airport’s total cargo handling capacity to 250,000 tons per year, with its world-class infrastructure and favorable location.