Spanish politicians spent $220 million on the sparkling new Castellon airport on Spain's Mediterranean coast — $40 million alone was spent on TV ads and other marketing. They also paid $600,000 for ferrets and falcons to kill birds that endanger aircraft.
Yet no plane has yet taken off. Construction, which began in 2004, went over budget, partly to fund a 75-foot statue of a local politician out front.
These are small towns. We no longer have much agriculture or industry. An airport could've brought us some life. So the idea was a good one. The thing is, it's got to function. And right now this airport isn't doing anything.
- Luis Garcia, a bus driver in Valencia, Spain
The project in Valencia — Spain's most indebted region — ran out of money before any deals with airlines were signed. Though the airport held a "grand opening" last year, the terminal still hasn't seen a single passenger.
To reach the empty airport, you have to take a train, then a bus, then walk along a dirt path through orange groves. Construction of the airport road was never completed. There are already three other airports within a drive of an hour or so.
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Yet no plane has yet taken off. Construction, which began in 2004, went over budget, partly to fund a 75-foot statue of a local politician out front.
These are small towns. We no longer have much agriculture or industry. An airport could've brought us some life. So the idea was a good one. The thing is, it's got to function. And right now this airport isn't doing anything.
- Luis Garcia, a bus driver in Valencia, Spain
To reach the empty airport, you have to take a train, then a bus, then walk along a dirt path through orange groves. Construction of the airport road was never completed. There are already three other airports within a drive of an hour or so.
more.............................................. .
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