THE airport in Ciudad Real is set to be left with an empty departures lounge after low cost airline Vueling has announced its jumping ship.
From October 29, there will be no more planes taking off from the airport – Spain’s first private capital airport – because of the ‘low profitability of the routes, increased cost of aviation fuel, and the stagnation of the Spanish economy’.
Vueling – the only airline operating from the soon to be defunct airport which opened in 2008 – made the decision after it lost 19.5 million euros in the first half of this year.
Ciudad Real will now join Castellon and Huesca in the ranks of empty airports.
This is a shame and I feel sorry for the investors and the local population but Ryanair could turn the situation around. The town has good links and for many visitors is a useful base as there is much to see in the area. The developer and local officials needs to think outside the box. Maybe it needs a womans touch – Hi I am available !!!- Helen
Helen should get the job – managing a dead airport with a womans touch ………
Airport with no planes. Spain. Yep.
Sounds like a clear matter of mismanagement and bad marketing. Maybe Helen and I should join forces to get this airport on the map. Never did airports before, but managed several large companies to survive in bad weather…
Helen shall we give it a try?
Further to Fred, Airport with no planes, houses with no occupants and banks with no money, you couldn’t make it up. The world is in a sorry state but for now I’m still happy to be here.
Is this in any way related to the inevitable privitisation of all Spanish airports? To prove that Spanish economy is better served with semi civil servants who get good money and pensions, are too expensive to fire and thus under perform? Or just strike like the air controllers did?
How can Ryanair improve any situation anywhere in the world. Has anybody had a good experience with that outfit?
Ciudad Real is less than an hour by train from Madrid, with its large global network of flights. for some reasons, CR airport has a 4,000m runway,longer than Heathrow, which presuambly wasn’t cheap.
Castellon airport will suffer a similar fate, being only 80km from Valencia airport, irrespective of whether it gets an operating license.
I’m in agreement with Helen, Ryanair could become a lifeline for the airport. Love them or Hate them Ryanair have made a considerable difference to opening up Europe to holiday makers, businesses and property investors. Many areas would considerably suffer without the daily Ryanair flights from the UK.
It could be the right time to consider this Airport, for verious reasons.
1- Low Cost of Operations.
2- We should be Innivative and creative.
3- Bring new Ideas to make this Airport function.
4- Looking at other Inceleries.