Check out the world's hauntingly beautiful abandoned airports

Permanently grounded

Unless you arrive in the dead of night, airports are usually teeming with tourists, business travelers and hundreds of staff members that keep the complex operations ticking over. But imagine rocking up at your local aviation center and finding nobody there. It's an eerie thought but one that could come true should you visit any of these abandoned airports...

Everglades Jetport, Florida, USA

This lonely airstrip was once part of a planned intercontinental hub for supersonic planes, which was supposed to become the world’s largest airport. Located in a remote area of South Florida, the Everglades Jetport was first launched in 1968, just before Concorde completed its first flight, and was tipped to have six runways and high-speed rail links to the surrounding cities.

Everglades Jetport, Florida, USA

However, after environmental concerns were raised in regards to supersonic aviation, the plans to build the impressive hub were abandoned. Nowadays, the lone runway, known as Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, is the only reminder of this once incredible project.

Kai Tak International, Hong Kong

Hong Kong's former international airport is an aviation hub no more. Once a handy place to land, right in the center of Hong Kong in the Kowloon area, it was the city's primary airport. But its lifetime was shrouded in complication and disaster. With the rapid growth of Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s, overcrowding in the airport became a problem and pollution for nearby residents was a huge issue.

Kai Tak International, Hong Kong

But it wasn't just the infrastructure that became a problem for this airport. Kai Tak was notorious for its difficult landings and take-offs. Pilots had to navigate the nearby hills with a sharp turn and often gusts of wind could make planes overshoot the runway. Several aircraft had accidents while coming into land or during take-off at the airport during its 73 years of operation, including the 1993 China Airlines Boeing 747 which overshot the runway during a typhoon and crashed into Victoria Harbour.

Kai Tak International, Hong Kong

Incredibly, there were no fatalities and only minor injuries. But the accident was one of many that led to the closure of the airport in 1998. It was replaced by a larger airport, still in use today, further away from the city's core residential areas. This meant height restrictions on buildings in Kowloon could be lifted and the city grew taller almost by the day.

Kai Tak International, Hong Kong

Today, the old airport is being used as a cruise terminal for up to two 220,000-tonne ships a day. The terminal opened in 2013 and sees more than 730,000 passengers pass through it each year, only a fraction of the close to 30 million people that used to travel through the airport when it was here.

Explore Hong Kong with our guide

Stapleton International Airport, Colorado, USA

Serving Denver, the capital of Colorado, Stapleton International was once a major airport for the western USA. Frontier and United Airlines both operated out of the hub during its 66-year tenure, as well as now-defunct carriers such as Continental and Denver's own Rocky Mountain Airways.

Stapleton International Airport, Colorado, USA

With six runways and five terminals, it was a serious operation with over 1,200 employees. But it wasn't quite big enough. Stapleton was growing and the demand for air traffic was increasing, but the airport simply couldn't keep up.

Stapleton International Airport, Colorado, USA

In 1995, all traffic ceased and was instead routed via Denver International Airport – the main transport hub for the state today. Now, you won't see many traces of the airport that once was.

Stapleton International Airport, Colorado, USA

After a storm in 1997 damaged many of the airport buildings, leaving well over 4,000 holes in the roof, the vast majority of it was torn down. Today, the most recognizable lasting feature is the old air traffic control tower which is now used as a bowling alley and restaurant. The land around it has been redeveloped as a residential area.

Ciudad Real Central Airport, Spain

Ciudad Real Central Airport in central Spain opened in 2008 to much fanfare but the massive infrastructure project, which cost an eye-watering £1 billion ($1.3bn), was doomed from the get-go. Stuck in the middle of nowhere, the airport's completion coincided with the global financial crisis of 2008 and resulting recession, and the hub failed to attract enough airlines to make it profitable.

Ciudad Real Central Airport, Spain

Vueling, the last airline to operate scheduled flights to and from the airport, pulled out in 2011. A year later, the private airport went bankrupt and closed.

Ciudad Real Central Airport, Spain

The airport, which was poised to welcome as many as 10 million passengers a year, was effectively abandoned in 2012. Its main building, single runway and nearby visitor center have remained empty ever since.

Ciudad Real Central Airport, Spain

Elsewhere in the airport, there's a partially completed walkway which was supposed to connect the airport to a train station on the Madrid-Seville high-speed rail line. Construction ceased when the airport closed. A large car park (pictured) also remains completely abandoned.

Ciudad Real Central Airport, Spain

Luckily, things are looking up for the ill-fated ghost airport. After changing ownership a couple of times in the last few years and a halted attempt at rebranding as Madrid Airport South, the current owners are looking into using the space for tech support and flight training.

Ellinikon International Airport, Greece

Athens' Ellinikon International Airport was originally built in 1938 and was the Greek capital's main airport for decades. It was closed in 2001 to make way for the new Athens International Airport.

Ellinikon International Airport, Greece

The airport was partly re-purposed as a venue for the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. The northwestern section of the site was used for field hockey, baseball and more. One of the airport's hangars was even revamped to host various fencing events and basketball games.

Ellinikon International Airport, Greece

Since the Olympics, the former airport has all been left to rack and ruin. An ambitious project to convert it into a municipal park was in the pipeline but was canned following the Greek debt crisis that pretty much bankrupted the country.

Ellinikon International Airport, Greece

After briefly serving as a makeshift refugee camp, the site was leased to a gambling development company which intended to build a casino inside the abandoned airport. Now, the airport has been given a new lease of life as Experience Park, Europe's largest urban regeneration project.

Yasser Arafat International Airport, Palestinian Territories

This major international airport near the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip was completed with funding from the international community. The opening ceremony in 1998 was attended by the then-US President Bill Clinton.

Yasser Arafat International Airport, Palestinian Territories

The airport, which was named in honor of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, was able to handle as many as 700,000 passengers a year. But the airport closed just a few years later in 2001, during the Second Intifada.

Yasser Arafat International Airport, Palestinian Territories

An Israeli bombing campaign severely damaged the air traffic control tower, the runway and the state-of-the-art terminal building. Soon after, Israeli bulldozers moved in and destroyed much of what was left.

Yasser Arafat International Airport, Palestinian Territories

Now a complete wreck, the airport has been totally abandoned and proposals to rebuild the hub have been vetoed by the Israeli authorities.

Nicosia International Airport, Cyprus

Today, Nicosia International is trapped in a 1970s time warp but it was once the principal airport of Cyprus, welcoming hundreds of thousands of tourists a year to the island's beautiful, sun-soaked beaches. But its story also has a tinge of tragedy.

Nicosia International Airport, Cyprus

In 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus and the country's international airport. It became the scene of fierce fighting between Turkish and Cypriot forces, and was heavily bombed.

Nicosia International Airport, Cyprus

The airport was declared a United Nations Protected Area (UNPA) during the conflict and found itself within the UN-controlled buffer zone once hostilities had ceased.

Nicosia International Airport, Cyprus

Situated in a no-man's land between the Republic of Cyprus and the self-declared state of Northern Cyprus, the airport has remained largely untouched since the conflict.

Nicosia International Airport, Cyprus

These days, the site is used as a headquarters for the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus but much of the former terminal building and its contents still exist, including signage and seating. While the future of the airport is uncertain, plans have been floated to re-open it under UN control and even transform the site into a special tax-free industrial zone.

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