Europe's top low-cost megahubs revealed: A closer look at six key airports

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Europe's top low-cost megahubs revealed: A closer look at six key airports

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By Sky Industry News

Dec 17, 2024

OAG has released its Megahubs 2024 report, highlighting the world's most connected airports. The report, now in its tenth year, uses OAG data to evaluate scheduled connections and destinations served by each airport. This year's findings provide insights into flight connectivity at major global airports.

The report also ranks the Top 25 Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) Megahubs, with the Asia-Pacific region dominating 16 of these spots. Kuala Lumpur is identified as the largest LCC Megahub with 14,583 possible low-cost connections across 137 destinations. Six European airports made it to the Top 25 list for LCC Megahubs.

London Gatwick Airport is ranked sixth among European LCC Megahubs and holds the title of the world's busiest single-runway airport. "Despite being the 'secondary' airport in the UK capital," London Gatwick served over 40 million passengers last year. EasyJet dominates Gatwick's LCC market with a significant share of traffic and offers routes to over 110 destinations.

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Palma de Mallorca ranks fifth among European LCC Megahubs. The third-busiest airport in Spain sees Ryanair as its largest carrier, operating nearly a quarter of all flights this month. Vueling follows closely behind with a strong presence and growth in flight operations.

Rome-Fiumicino Airport is fourth on the list and is Italy’s busiest airport. It serves as a hub for ITA Airways but has seen substantial growth from LCCs like Ryanair and Wizz Air. "This two-horse LCC race" is expected to see further changes with easyJet expanding its operations following Lufthansa's investment in ITA Airways.

Amsterdam Schiphol takes third place among European LCC Megahubs but has lower penetration of LCCs compared to other airports reviewed, accounting for just 19% of flights due to slot constraints and environmental measures.

Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen ranks second and operates almost entirely as an LCC hub with Pegasus Airlines leading in market share. AJet also plays a significant role at this airport after rebranding from AnadoluJet earlier this year.

Barcelona–El Prat tops Europe's list of LCC Megahubs and ranks eighth globally. Vueling leads at Barcelona both as an airline overall and within the LCC category, followed by Ryanair which maintains a notable presence.

József Váradi, CEO of Wizz Air, commented on their new route: "Since establishing our base at London Gatwick in 2020, we have demonstrated ambitious growth... We are excited to offer our customers this new route from London Gatwick to Jeddah."