Forgotten Terminals: The Story of Airports Left Behind
A look at the world’s most desolate airports. We start with Mid America St. Louis Airport, a facility originally conceived as a burgeoning hub to augment the operations of Lambert St. Louis International Airport. Despite its grand architectural design and potential to accommodate both domestic and international travelers, the airport has struggled to attract consistent airline operations, largely due to its proximity to a more established airport and insufficient passenger demand.
Then we visit the new Siem Reap Angkor International Airport in Cambodia, a project launched in response to the burgeoning tourism in 2025, surrounding the iconic Angkor Wat. With state-of-the-art infrastructure designed to handle millions of passengers, the airport’s reality starkly contrasts its ambitions; it grapples with underutilization and fierce competition from other regional airports.
The Cambodian government remains hopeful about its potential role in bolstering the nation’s tourism and economic landscape, yet the challenges it faces underscore the complexities inherent in fostering growth in less accessible regions.
Then we tell story of Ciudad Real Central Airport in Spain. Once envisioned as a pivotal European transit hub, it too met an untimely demise due to operational failures and financial miscalculations, culminating in its bankruptcy within just three years of operation. This trajectory of decline across various global airports serves as a sobering testament to the volatility of the aviation sector, and how sometimes airports can come back from nearly dead, as in Worcester Mass Airport.
Transcript
Today on GoNomad, we're taking a look at some of the world's emptiest airports.
Speaker A:Places built to serve air travelers but with few passengers in sight.
Speaker A:While the United States rules the world with more than 14,000 airports, even here we have some that no longer bustle with many flights or passengers.
Speaker A:We start at the Mid America St.
Speaker A:Louis Airport in the United States, which some call a ghost of grand plans.
Speaker A:Located in illinois, just a 30 minute drive from St.
Speaker A:Louis, Missouri, mid America St.
Speaker A:Louis Airport was envisioned as a bustling secondary hub to complement Lambert St.
Speaker A:Louis International Airport.
Speaker A:Opened in:Speaker A:Unfortunately, Mid America's promise never materialized.
Speaker A:Airlines balked at moving operations, citing proximity to Lambert Airport and weak passenger demand.
Speaker A:Today, Mid America occasionally hosts a low cost carrier and a sprinkling of charter flights, leaving much of its infrastructure unused.
Speaker A:The silent halls and idle boarding gates stand as a reminder of what could have been.
Speaker A:In:Speaker A:Located approximately 40 kilometers east of Angkor Wat, the airport boasts a 3,600 meter Runway and the capacity to handle up to 7 million passengers a year, with projections to expand to 12 million by 20.
Speaker A:Despite its modern design and ambitious goals, the airport has faced challenges in attracting sufficient passenger traffic.
Speaker A:Its remote location and competition from other regional airports have left terminal parts underutilized.
Speaker A:However, the Cambodian government remains optimistic, viewing the airport as a long term investment in the country's tourism and economic growth.
Speaker A:In Cincinnati, it was once a bustling hub for regional jets and Cincinnati Municipal Lunkin Airport has seen a significant decline in activity over the years.
Speaker A:Before the airport Cincinnati Northern Kentucky Airport was built, Lincoln was busy and served the public.
Speaker A:It was built in:Speaker A:By:Speaker A:Its Art Deco terminal, a relic of the golden age of aviation, now sits as a quiet reminder of its former glory.
Speaker A:Efforts to repurpose the airport for community events and aviation museum are underway, but its future remains uncertain.
Speaker A:opened with great fanfare in:Speaker A:Its developers boasted of its location, a two hour high speed train ride from Madrid and the capacity to handle millions of passengers every year.
Speaker A:Constructed at a cost of $1.1 billion.
Speaker A:It was opened in:Speaker A:In:Speaker A:The dream in Spain might have worked had the high speed AVE railway link been built.
Speaker A:But they only got as far as a 900 foot walkway that never connected to any high speed rail.
Speaker A:A gleaming terminal in one of Europe's longest runways set it apart as an airport ready for anything.
Speaker A:During the pandemic, the empty airport was used to store airplanes temporarily and freight service was small but continuing.
Speaker A:The most exciting thing that's happened recently was the filming of movies and an episode of Top Gear for BBC television using the long Runway.
Speaker A:But passenger numbers failed to take off.
Speaker A:Poor financial planning, limited airline interest and competition from Madrid's beautiful Barajas airport sealed its fate.
Speaker A:By:Speaker A:Now its cavernous terminal occasionally hosts private flights or movie sets.
Speaker A:Its promise of once becoming a bustling hub has been left unfulfilled.
Speaker A:Dubbed the world's emptiest airport, Matala Rajapaska International Airport is a striking example of infrastructure development gone Haywire.
Speaker A:Opened in:Speaker A:However, its remote location, far from population centers and a lack of demand left it devoid of passengers.
Speaker A:Airlines pulled out, leaving the airport to struggle with operating costs.
Speaker A:Despite attempts to revive it with cargo operations and other uses, Matala remains a costly emblem of misplaced priorities.
Speaker A:The airport is a classic case of a strongman president's pet projects.
Speaker A:It was built in the president's home district, and today it's so empty that the access road to the airport is used to dry peppers and has become a place where wild elephants roam after dark.
Speaker A:airports until its closure in:Speaker A:Known for its dramatic approach where the planes flew low over densely populated neighborhoods, Kai Tak was replaced by the modern Hong Kong International Airport.
Speaker A:Today the site has been redeveloped into Kai Tak cruise terminal and residential projects.
Speaker A:While it no longer buzzes with jet engines, Kai Tak's transformation showcases how abandoned airports can find new purposes in Berlin.
Speaker A:The former Tegel airport is a massive urban park on a scale that hasn't been seen in very many other places.
Speaker A:In nearby Worcester, Massachusetts.
Speaker A:The airport there has seen a resurgence since it was once included on lists like this.
Speaker A:No more.
Speaker A:Nearly 300,000 people flew out of Worcester, Mass.
Speaker A:In:Speaker A:locations.
Speaker A:So there is a silver lining.
Speaker A:Some airports do come back and others, like Siem Reap in Cambodia, will continue to grow into their huge size.