Europe’s ‘ghost’ airport finally reaching 1 million passengers after 10 years

A European airport in a huge country popular with millions of British holidaymakers every year is finally reaching one million passengers after 10 years.

Castellon Airport, located near Vilanova d’Alcolea, Benlloc and Cabanes in the Valencian Community of Spain, has been open to traffic since 2014 but has been consistently mocked for having such low passenger numbers and being practically empty.

But its figures are improving, with record passenger numbers and the largest flight schedule in its history planned for next year, increasing from 11 to 14 regular routes.

The airport had an annual target of 260,000 passengers by October, which it has surpassed, and has also hit the million user mark since its opening.

Over the last decade, it has had nearly 1.3 million passengers and 54,000 aircraft movements have been recorded.

The announcement was made by Vicente Martínez Mus, the Minister of Environment, Infrastructure, and Territory, who highlighted the Generalitat Valenciana’s commitment to improving Castellón’s air connectivity. 

He said: “On December 21, we will launch a new route to Asturias, and by 2025 three new lines to Budapest, Krakow, and Palma de Mallorca are confirmed.

“Additionally, we have initiated the process to launch a new route to Cluj in Romania also in 2025.”

Air Nostrum has been given the contract to operate the Madrid route for the next three years and launch a new summer line to Palma de Mallorca next year.

The Madrid route will run four times weekly and guarantees over 70 national and international connections through Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport. The Palma route will operate for seven weeks during summer twice weekly.

Vicente Martínez Mus added: “The combination of all these routes will give a new boost to the airport and allow us to surpass next year’s barrier of 300,000 passengers, bringing us closer to the half-million target.

He also noted that for 2026, two more routes to Paris and Stuttgart are confirmed.