Understanding the low cost carrier and airport relationship: A critical analysis of the salient issues

This paper examines the relationship between low cost carriers (LCCs) and airports by undertaking a critical analysis of the academic research in this area. The findings show that the LCC's choice of airport is very much determined by its operating model, although through time a wide variation of models have evolved which has complicated the situation. The analysis also confirms that the nature of the airline–airport relationship has fundamentally changed, not only because of the growth of the LCC sector but also because of the commercialisation of the airport industry. However the academic literature is far less clear and conclusive about the overall impacts of LCC operations at airports and the extent to which airports benefit from LCCs, particularly in the long-term, and this suggests that more studies are needed. In addition more research from other regions outside of Europe, and also concerning passenger preferences, would fill some other knowledge gaps that have been identified.