Europe's large "budget" airports prosper - but threats emerge as primary airports fight back

When talking of a "low cost airport" (LCA) the temptation is to consider only those that are situated some distance from the city they serve, are used only by budget airlines and general aviation, have few routes and handle relatively small numbers of passengers, usually in the category 0.5 to three million ppa. There are some well known examples where that is certainly not the case, for example KLIA2 in Kuala Lumpur (though that is a terminal, rather than an airport) and Don Mueang in Bangkok for example. The latter has become the leading LCA in the world as judged by passenger numbers. In Europe London's Stansted Airport vies with it for that title.

But within Europe there are several other LCAs that punch well above their weight, or have the potential to, and which merit examination. Four of them are examined here. While most are thriving now, evolving airline models may threaten their comfort zone.