The Rise of Secondary Airports: How Second-Tier Hubs Are Winning Passengers

For decades, the world's attention — and its airline traffic — has been focused on the great primary airports: the Heathrows, the JFKs, the Frankfurts. But quietly, a parallel aviation revolution has been unfolding at airports that most travelers once considered afterthoughts. Secondary airports — smaller facilities that serve the same metropolitan areas as primary hubs but at lower cost and often with greater convenience — have become one of the fastest-growing segments of the global aviation industry. Their rise is reshaping how cities are connected, how airlines compete, and how passengers think about where to begin their journeys.

What Makes an Airport Secondary?

A secondary airport is defined not by its size or quality but by its relationship to a primary hub in the same metropolitan area. London Luton (LTN) is secondary to Heathrow (LHR). Milan Bergamo (BGY) is secondary to Milan Malpensa (MXP). Hollywood Burbank (BUR) is secondary to Los Angeles International (LAX). In each case, the secondary airport serves a similar catchment area but operates at a different scale and with a different competitive positioning.

The distinction matters because secondary airports typically offer advantages that primary hubs cannot: lower aeronautical charges (the fees airlines pay for landing, parking, and terminal use), less congestion (meaning faster turnarounds and fewer delays), simpler terminal layouts (meaning less time walking and shorter check-in queues), and often superior surface access from certain parts of the metropolitan area. These advantages create a compelling value proposition — particularly for low-cost carriers whose business models depend on fast turnarounds and minimal fees.

The Low-Cost Carrier Catalyst

The modern secondary airport boom was catalyzed by the rise of low-cost carriers (LCCs) in the 1990s and 2000s. Ryanair, Europe's largest LCC, built its entire network strategy around secondary airports: rather than paying premium charges at congested hubs, Ryanair negotiated low-cost deals with airports desperate for traffic. Milan Bergamo, Frankfurt-Hahn, and dozens of other small airports that had been struggling for viability were transformed by Ryanair's arrival into thriving aviation facilities.

The formula was simple but powerful. An underused secondary airport offered Ryanair rock-bottom landing fees, sometimes supplemented by marketing subsidies or guaranteed minimum traffic incentives. In return, Ryanair brought millions of passengers who spent money in the airport's shops and restaurants, filled local hotels, and supported the regional economy. The airport's passenger numbers — and revenue — surged, while the nearby primary hub lost little traffic because Ryanair was largely stimulating new demand from price-sensitive travelers who would not have flown at all at primary-hub fare levels.

This model has been replicated worldwide. In Southeast Asia, AirAsia has driven traffic to secondary airports like Don Mueang (DMK) in Thailand (secondary to Suvarnabhumi). In the United States, Southwest Airlines has long favored secondary airports like Chicago Midway (MDW), Dallas Love Field (DAL), and Burbank (BUR), offering lower fares and more convenient experiences than the primary hubs.

The Speed Advantage

For many passengers, the most compelling reason to choose a secondary airport is not price but time. Primary hubs are often massive complexes where the journey from curbside to gate can take 30 to 60 minutes, even without security delays. Secondary airports are typically much smaller, with shorter distances between all touchpoints. A passenger at Burbank can walk from the parking lot to the gate in under 10 minutes — an experience that would take 30 to 45 minutes at LAX.

This speed advantage is particularly valuable for business travelers, who prize predictability and time efficiency over network breadth. Many companies with offices near secondary airports actively encourage employees to use them, even if it means fewer airline choices, because the time savings over a full trip — two to three hours round-trip compared to the primary hub — translate directly into productivity.

The European Secondary Airport Boom

Europe has seen the most dramatic growth in secondary airport traffic, driven by the EU Single Aviation Market and the continent's dense network of LCCs. London is the extreme example: the metropolitan area is served by six airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, London City, and Southend), of which four — Stansted, Luton, City, and Southend — function as secondary airports with distinct market niches.

London Stansted (STN), the largest of these secondary airports, handled over 28 million passengers in 2023, driven primarily by Ryanair's base of operations. Luton (LTN) has grown from 7 million passengers in 2000 to over 18 million, powered by easyJet and Wizz Air. These airports have invested in terminal expansions, improved rail links, and enhanced commercial facilities, transforming from bare-bones LCC airports into credible alternatives to the primary hubs.

A similar pattern has emerged in other European metropolitan areas. Milan Bergamo (BGY) grew from 2 million passengers in 2000 to over 16 million, becoming Italy's third-busiest airport despite being located 50 kilometers from central Milan. Rome Ciampino (CIA), Barcelona Girona, and Paris Beauvais have all seen similar trajectories, each driven by LCC traffic that has brought air travel within reach of millions of passengers who previously could not afford it.

U.S. Market Dynamics

The United States has a different secondary airport dynamic, shaped by the country's unique combination of deregulated domestic aviation and massive urban sprawl. Many U.S. secondary airports — Midway, San Jose (SJC), Love Field — have been active for decades, predating the LCC boom. Southwest Airlines, which began operations in 1971, was built around secondary airports from the start, choosing airports that legacy carriers had neglected in favor of their hub fortresses.

More recently, the growth of ultra-low-cost carriers like Spirit, Frontier, and Allegiant has driven traffic to even smaller secondary airports. Allegiant Air's entire business model revolves around connecting small, underserved airports to popular leisure destinations — a strategy that has brought scheduled air service to dozens of communities that previously had none.

Challenges and Limitations

The secondary airport model is not without challenges. The most fundamental is network connectivity: because secondary airports are primarily served by point-to-point carriers, they offer limited or no connecting service. A passenger who needs to reach a destination not served nonstop from the secondary airport has no choice but to use the primary hub. This limitation keeps secondary airports dependent on a relatively narrow set of high-demand routes and makes them vulnerable to carrier decisions about network strategy.

Surface access is another persistent challenge. Secondary airports are sometimes located farther from city centers than primary hubs, and they may have inferior rail and public transit connections. Reaching Bergamo from central Milan requires a bus ride of at least 50 minutes. Getting to Frankfurt-Hahn from Frankfurt city center takes over 90 minutes by bus — a journey that calls into question whether the airport is truly Frankfurt at all. Advertising practices that exaggerate an airport's proximity to a major city have attracted regulatory scrutiny in multiple jurisdictions.

Revenue diversification is also difficult. Secondary airports often lack the premium traffic (business travelers, first-class passengers) that generates high retail spending. Their commercial revenues per passenger tend to be lower than at primary hubs, which constrains the capital available for infrastructure investment and creates a dependence on aeronautical revenues from a small number of airline customers — sometimes a single dominant LCC.

Infrastructure Investment and Transformation

Successful secondary airports are those that have invested strategically to upgrade their facilities without losing the simplicity and speed that attracted passengers in the first place. Luton has completed a major terminal expansion and is building a new direct rail link to central London that will dramatically improve surface access. Bergamo has upgraded its terminal with modern retail and dining options while maintaining its reputation for quick processing times.

In the United States, Burbank is constructing an entirely new terminal to replace its aging 1930s-era facility, designed to maintain the airport's famously fast passenger flow while meeting modern seismic, safety, and accessibility standards. The project reflects the maturation of secondary airports from makeshift alternatives to permanent fixtures of the metropolitan aviation landscape.

The Future of Secondary Airports

As primary hubs worldwide approach capacity limits, secondary airports are likely to absorb an increasing share of future traffic growth. This trend is already visible in markets like London, where Heathrow is effectively full and all net growth in regional and European traffic is flowing to the secondary airports. Urban air mobility — electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft — could further boost secondary airports by providing fast, direct connections between city centers and smaller airfields that lack conventional ground transport links.

For passengers, the rise of secondary airports means more choices, often at lower prices, and frequently with a faster, simpler travel experience. The age when a city had one dominant airport and travelers had no alternative is giving way to a more diverse, competitive landscape where secondary airports are not second-class — they are simply a different, and for many travelers better, way to fly.