Regional airports are becoming more and more important in the European aviation network. Traffic growth is increasingly spread over smaller airports in the European airport hierarchy.

The rise of the low-cost carrier, liberalization of the market, the introduction of regional jets, conversion of former military airfields into commercial service airports and the growth of regional carriers have been important drivers for the growth of regional airports.

How do governments deal with the new role of regional airports? What are the driving factors behind the growth of regional airports? To what extent do regional airports contribute to the regional economy?