Fantasizing About a Euro Trip? The 5 Cheapest Airports in Europe to Fly Into

Barcelona El Prat Josep Tarradellas Airport in Spain is a prominent gateway to other European destinations (Photo: Tobias)

I would really like to open with some corny play on words involving Europe, but the honest-to-goodness truth is that I just spent the last half hour or so cross-referencing various lists of European airports and I just don’t have the strength to search for anything else. So what do you get instead? Uhh… a post that gets straight to the point, I guess?

Look, folks, if you clicked on this, it’s possible you’re thinking about making a trip across the pond, and that’s super. It’s also within the realm of possibility that you’re simply curious to see which cities and airports would land on a list such as this and have no plans whatsoever to do anything with this information other than file it away for a rainy day. And in that case I would say: hold your cat close (because, you know, curiosity can get violent sometimes).

All right, enough with the shenanigans. With deference to the likes of World of Wanderlust, Travel + Leisure, and Travel Off Path, among others, here are the five cheapest European airports to fly into from the good ole U.S. of A.:

Barcelona, Spain

As the photo up above should have hinted, Barcelona makes the cut here. Its major airport — Barcelona El Prat Josep Tarradellas (BCN) — showed up consistently as one of the best options for cheap flights from the U.S. According to Going.com, which named BCN its top airport for cheap flights to Europe in 2022, this seaside city in northern Spain is a hub for various low-cost airlines, such as LEVEL and Vueling. What’s more, roundtrip fares to other major European cities are extremely wallet-friendly.

Dublin, Ireland

The only other airport that showed up as often as BCN when I conducted the extensive, arduous, painstaking, and time-consuming research necessary to cobble together this incredibly detailed list… was Dublin Airport (DUB) in Ireland. Home base to both Aer Lingus and Ryanair, Europe’s largest low-cost carrier, flights in and out of this puppy are the opposite of bank-breaking. Over a dozen U.S. cities offer direct flights to Dublin, from which you can then easily and affordably access Wales and England, along with other western European destinations.

Scandinavian Airlines, a major carrier in its eponymous region, is headquartered at Copenhagen Airport in Denmark (Photo: Fabian N.)

Milan, Italy

The city that next appeared on other lists almost as often as Barcelona and Dublin was Milan, one of the world’s major fashion and design capitals. Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) is Italy’s second-busiest hub and will typically have the cheapest direct flights into the country for travelers coming from the U.S. Once there, connections to other parts of Italy and Europe are at your fingertips, with many budget flights originating out of nearby Bergamo Airport (BGY). Travel by train from Milan to cities such as Venice, Rome, and beyond is readily available, as well.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Next up we have Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark (which I have definitely never confused with Copemish, a tiny town in the middle-of-nowhere Michigan). Copenhagen Airport (CPH) is the Big Man on Campus as far as Scandinavia is concerned, handling the most international arrivals in the region. Fittingly, it is the main hub for Scandinavian Airlines. From here, you have easy access to other Nordic countries (hello, Finland!), as well as major European hubs situated southward.

Madrid, Spain

Last but not least we head back to Spain — to the Spanish capital, specifically. While there are three airports in Madrid, the one we’re spotlighting here is Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD). According to Thrifty Traveler, you won’t be mad about the cost of flying into MAD at almost any time of year, as nearly every airline imaginable operates a route there. Iberia Airlines, Spain’s flagship carrier, is headquartered in Madrid and offers very friendly fare sales on the regular. The folks over at Going.com call the city “a paradise for budget aviation”, with most other major cities in western and central Europe just a cheap flight or train ride away.

-LTH