Abstract. Air transport deregulation involves the sector of travel itself and the sector concerning slot allocations, airport charges and ground handling. The aim of this work is to analyze the Italian air market liberalization and its implications for secondary airports. After the introduction, the second section analyzes the consequences of liberalization on the use of airport capacity. The third part describes the development of the low cost phenomenon and the role of new carriers in the European Union market. The study ends with a look at the topic of planning airport investments in peripheral areas.