Air Cargo Transport development in Central and Eastern Europe and Baltic countries

The economic and social development in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Baltic countries in the last ten years, the admission of first 10 countries from this area in European Union has an important impact on the evolution of air transport in this area. We present the approach used by the airlines for choosing an airport for air cargo operation, step by step: chose of the region of operation, then the economic analysis of the region and of the airports, analysis of possible constraints for operations and individual performances of airport. The interest of airlines for an airport is generated by the growth of the county or of the region, the trade, the foreign investments and the labor market development, all indicators being analyzed in the paper. The diversification of the trade business model, the development of e-commerce has had an important impact on the development of cargo traffic in the world and of course also in CEE. The features of the air cargo transport market have had a great influence on governmental policies for airport cargo capacity development in CEE and in Baltic Countries. In order to provide airports with strategic information for building development strategies, this paper presents a comparative analysis of the evolution and demands of air cargo transport using external and internal benchmarking approach. The target group is represented by capitals’ airports from Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania.