Auction clips wings of Spain’s ‘ghost airport’

One of the most iconic symbols of Spain's crisis, Cuidad Real 'ghost airport' is about to go under the hammer for a bargain price.

Saddled with debts of €529 million, the airport has never really taken off the ground.

The facility shut up shop in September 2012 after just three years in operation and now the courts have ordered its sale to help balance the books.

Original construction costs for the airport were a cool €1,000 million, Spanish newspaper La Confidential reported on Wednesday.

Now though, the airport's current owners are now prepared to flog it all off for a tenth of that price.

But before you open your wallet, be warned: there are no guarantees Spain's aviation safety authority (AESA) will renew the airport's operational licence.

The airport of Cuidad Real, some 200km south of Madrid, was designed to receive 2.5 million passengers a year.

In 2010, however, only 31,000 people walked through its doors.

Spain is littered with reminders of the country's building boom including the airport of Castellón in Valencia province and the ghost town of Seseña.