According to a study published by Eurocontrol yesterday, the market share of low cost airlines in Europe soared in April and May of this year, reaching an overall share of 16.3percent by the end of May 2006.

The analysis carried out by Eurocontrol shows that low cost airlines have added 2.4 percentage points to their overall market share during the past 12 months.

According to the report, this surge has been most notable in the UK where low cost airlines now operate 32 percent of all flights, followed by Spain and Poland where 21 percent of all flights are operated by low-cost air companies. Despite the rise in market share and passengers, this year there are 50 low cost airlines operating in Europe, compared to 52 last years. The number of flights operated by these airlines has increased by 23 percent in 2006.

London Stanstead is the European airport with the most cheap flights, followed by London Gatwick, Dublin and London Luton. According to the press release published by Eurocontrol, ten of the top 25 low-cost country-to-country flights involve the United Kingdom, but only one out of the top ten – flights between Spain and the UK – is dominated by low cost flights compared the traditional airlines.

Eurocontrol is the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation and its primary objective is the development of a seamless pan-European air traffic management system which fully accommodates the growth in air traffic while maintaining a high level of safety, enhancing cost-efficiency and respecting the environment.