Copenhagen open for low-cost flights

(Copenhagen Airports)

Copenhagen Airport has opened a new dedicated terminal for low-cost carriers to cater for increased demand in budget flights to the Danish capital.

Named CPH Go, the new facility will house budget airlines separately from the main carriers in Copenhagen Airport, providing a fast, cheap service designed for low-cost airlines (which typically have shorter boarding and turnaround times).

Much like the in-air experience, the terminal is very much no-frills, as it's almost entirely self-service and offers gates without jet bridges.

The first flights from CPH Go were operated by easyJet, which inaugurated a new service between Copenhagen and the Swiss city of Basel and will operate ten flights a day from the new terminal.

Earlier this year, the airline's rival Ryanair was reportedly eying slots at the new terminal, before pulling out citing high costs.

Despite this, Copenhagen officials insist that a dedicated budget terminal will lure more low-cost airlines and more tourists to the city, which has already seen low-cost traffic share rise from 1.5 percent of the total in 2000 to around 18 percent today.

Copenhagen is one of the first major European airports to offer an all-budget terminal, a model popularised by French airports such as Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux.

It is an approach also expected to be rolled out in several Asian airports, with Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Tokyo Narita and Singapore Changi all building or expanding their own low-cost terminals.

http://www.cph.dk