Now that Copenhagen Airport has officially scrapped a proposal to construct a new low-cost terminal for budget carriers, and Ryanair has greatly reduced its routes to Denmark, it seems the Nordic nation won’t be the low-cost hub many airlines had hoped for, Copenhagen Post reports.
The proposed Terminal A at Copenhagen Airport was supposed to become a new hub for budget carriers looking to add routes to the Danish capital by 2010. Backers of Terminal A had already convinced Danish budget carrier Sterling to use the terminal, but the Copenhagen Airport authorities denied private investors the right to use airport property to build the new terminal.
The rationale for this decision isn’t clear. Oliver Aust, the European head of easyJet, said “Copenhagen is one of the dearest airports in Europe and a low-cost terminal would help increase traffic. This is especially relevant now, when oil prices are high and all airlines are fighting to reduce their costs.”
Further crimping low-cost flights into Denmark, Europe’s largest budget airline, Ryanair, announced that it was cutting around 30 percent of its Danish routes. Flights from several Italian and Spanish cities to Copenhagen will be suspended for the winter season, and other routes to Arhus and Billund airports will also be reduced. Airport authorities say some routes may reopen next summer if passenger traffic increases again.
That is a shame. I have visited Denmark a few times and it is a great country. Fingers crossed that gas prices start coming down because it is really hurting the airline business.