Budget airlines such as Ryanair and Wizz Air offer holiday-goers the chance to travel on the cheap, yet this can come with a set of challenges.
Experts have issued a warning for Ryanair and Wizz Air passengers to be vigilant and verify their actual airport destination before making a booking, in order to avoid a common costly blunder that affects millions every year.
Hadleigh Diamond, director of SCS Chauffeurs, said: “Many budget airlines use major destinations in airport names that are actually 100s of miles away from the actual destination, leaving travellers working out how to get an airport transfer to the real destination.”
A representative for Wizz Air stated the importance of secondary airports for low-cost fares: “The use of secondary airports is key to ensuring we can keep fares for our passengers as low as possible.”
Sometimes an airport may share its name with a big city even though it’s not located within the city limits; instead, it might be situated in a nearby suburb or town and serve as the central hub for people flying to and from that larger metropolitan area.
This practice is not just for ease of access for travellers but also assists in recognition of the airport’s name, which is particularly beneficial when there’s just one significant airport catering to an extensive region.
Airports over 50 miles away from their city
- Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (HHN) – 126 km (78 miles) (closer to Luxembourg).
- Oslo-Torp Airport (TRF) – 110 km (68 miles) southwest of Oslo.
- Memmingen Airport (FMM) (Often Marketed as “Munich West”) – 116 km (72 miles).
- Stockholm Skavsta Airport (NYO) – 100 km (62 miles) south of Stockholm.
- Barcelona-Reus Airport (REU) – 100 km (62 miles) southwest of Barcelona.
- Paris–Beauvais Airport (BVA) – 85 km (53 miles.)
- Düsseldorf-Weeze Airport (NRN) – Approximately 80 km (50 miles) – on the border with Holland.
After landing at these airports, you’ll still have between one and two hours to travel until you reach your destination, which can be a pain if you haven’t planned a transfer or plotted a route ahead of time
Hadleigh touched on the upside of greater distances, saying: “They do have benefits, however, offering cheap flights to major destinations, as long as you’re able to plan your airport transfer effectively, especially by pre-booking if its a late night flight.”
Echoing similar sentiments, a spokesperson for Wizz Air stated: “At Wizz Air, for over twenty years, we’ve worked to democratise travel by making flying affordable for all. Thanks to this, we have flown more than 100 million passengers in the UK and connected them to incredible destinations for a low price.
“This has been a key aspect of our ultra-low-cost business model. The use of secondary airports is key to ensuring we can keep fares for our passengers as low as possible.
“It also helps to support local economies by encouraging travellers to visit off-the-beaten track destinations they wouldn’t otherwise visit.”