Marseille - No-frills terminal opened for low-cost airlines

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Source:euronews.net

No-frills terminal opened for low-cost airlines

After low-cost airlines now comes a low-cost airport. The new terminal building just opened at Marseille in southern France has been built just for budget carriers like Ryanair and easyJet. The no-frills terminal has concrete floors rather than carpeting, and passengers have to carry their own bags while they walk to the aircraft.

The savings mean the airport can charge the airlines just 1.30 euros per passenger rather than the usual six euros.

There was a mixed reaction from travellers. One woman said: "If it is not expensive and your fare is cheaper, you can accept having less luggage." But a man said he wouldn't be tempted to use the terminal: "As I'm a frequent flyer, I have a pass that streamlines checking in and things like that and the low cost airlines don't offer that kind of facility."

With the low-cost hub, Marseille hopes to grabs a share of the rapidly growing cheap flights market in and out of France. Maxime Tissot from the city's tourism office said: "According to our calculations the airport will handle 400,000 additional tourists annually on the low cost carriers. It means 15% to 20% more visitors in this region, Provence, with about 40% of those coming to Marseilles. "

The special terminal, which is actually a converted cargo warehouse, has the capacity to handle up to 3.5 million passengers per year.