Low cost airlines carried 14.2% more domestic passengers in the first half of 2012 than 12 months earlier ANA – the Portuguese airport operator – said Thursday.

International low cost flights overall saw an increase of 1.8%.

The most traditional airlines, on the other hand, suffered a 9.7% drop on the domestic market and 3.6% on international routes.

In terms of quotas, traditional carriers lost about 3% which was almost exactly the amount low cost carriers gained.

Traditional carriers still carried more passengers, however, with over 4 million passengers against about 2.3 million on the low cost.