The Role of Accessibility in Passengers' Choice of Airports

Until about two decades ago, the choice of airport was relatively easy for travellers. Within acceptable travel distances, usually only one airport provided flights to the preferred destination. However, nowadays people can choose between multiple airports when arranging a trip. Regional airports have grown very fast over the last decade(s) and are now providing flights to many destinations. The growth rates (both in terms of passengers and in number of flights) at the “smaller” airports in north-western European countries are usually larger than at the largest airports in those countries (see Figure 1 and 2 for the average growth rates in the last five years).