The negativity on this thread is pathetic. What exactly do presumably grown men have against an inanimate object that many rely on to put food on their tables?
It was only a few years ago that annual passengers was at 2 million. Yes the world has changed slightly which is why they are changing their business model to serving low cost carriers. Guess what low cost carriers care about more than anything? YEILD. As proven on numerous routes more than enough people are willing to pay a whole lot more to fly from SOU than deal with the numerous issues at say LGW or BOH. If EZY or whoever can add an extra flight to Spain, Italy etc and charge double the price at SOU they are going to do it. I very much suspect that BOH is making a loss on FR’s ops as do most airports. They have a diverse portfolio of business that they derive money from and are therefore not a really a competitor to SOU.
I am not sure what this lagging behind other airports comment in that article is based on. I think compared to other regional airports SOU is doing amazingly. It’s got 9 airlines and a tour operator all using it. Yes 9! Tell me another regional airport that has that.