Belgium and Hungary dominate Europe’s e-commerce air import market

Jul 16, 2026

Belgium and Hungary are Europe’s leading gateways for e-commerce air imports, according to new year-to-date 2026 data from Rotate, reflecting the importance of Liège and Budapest in cross-border parcel logistics.
The analysis shows e-commerce accounts for 56 percent of Belgium’s air imports, while Poland rounds out the top 10 with a 22 percent share.
Rotate says it will monitor how the EU’s new €3 duty on low-value parcels, introduced on 1 July, affects e-commerce air cargo demand in the coming months.

Cross-border e-commerce continues to reshape European air cargo flows, with a small group of countries emerging as the principal gateways for low-value parcel imports. New data published by Rotate highlights how concentrated this market has become, while also raising questions about how recent regulatory changes could alter established trade patterns.

According to Rotate’s latest analysis of year-to-date 2026 air imports, Belgium tops the ranking, with 56 percent of its air import volumes linked to e-commerce shipments. Hungary follows closely in second place, underlining the growing strategic importance of Budapest as a gateway for parcels entering Europe.

The remainder of the top five is occupied by Czechia, Romania and Greece, all recording substantial shares of e-commerce within their total air imports. Although the chart does not provide exact percentages beyond Belgium and Poland, the ranking shows that several Central and Eastern European markets now play an increasingly prominent role in handling cross-border online retail flows.

Further down the list are Norway, Estonia, Spain, Switzerland and Poland, with Poland recording the lowest share among the top ten at 22 percent. Even so, the figures suggest that more than one-fifth of Poland’s air import traffic is generated by e-commerce, demonstrating the scale of the sector across Europe.

The results reflect the growing significance of dedicated e-commerce gateways rather than the size of national economies. Rotate points specifically to Liège and Budapest, which have established themselves as major hubs for cross-border parcel traffic into Europe.