| Summary: | Airport infrastructures play an important role in
the heart of the regions in which they are
located, as well as in certain sectors of activity,
such as tourism. In recent years, their
positioning has been altered from a passive
attitude to an active attitude due to new market
demands and new trends which have arisen in
associated sectors, such as the air transport
sector. The 1997 deregulation of air transport in
Europe led to major changes on the way people
travel. One of the most interesting results of
deregulation, was caused by the fact that the low
cost airlines appeared on the market with a
business model distinct from the traditional
scheduled and charter airlines, allowing for the
opening up of new airports and new tourist
destinations. Those airlines are also responsible
for some of the main changes in the airports
operations and market positioning. The increase
in routes and frequencies offered by these
airlines enabled the emergence of new tourist
destinations in Europe that spread, later on, to
other places all over the world. The ease of
purchasing an airline ticket online, and the
availability of attractive routes at affordable
prices allowed the development of new market
segments, such as second home tourism. One of
the main impacts of low cost operations has
been the changing of airport's structures, mainly
to the ones that traditionally received charter
flights. In this article we are going to explore the
case study of Faro airport, an excellent example
of these changes.
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