Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. That will be us all eventually. Even with a stiff wind and the best intentions, activities, adventures and endeavors will still be championed by champions of business and commerce. Chests held high, faces into the wind, these hearty individuals will damn the torpedoes to a new high. But, of course, it doesn’t always end up that way, does it? Sit back and ponder the story of Ciudad Real in Spain. Ciudad Real is a city in south-central Spain, the capital of the province of Ciudad Real, located in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha.
Its history is deeply rooted in medieval Spain and the region of La Mancha, famous for Don Quixote. It was originally named Villa Real (Royal Town). Its strategic purpose was to establish a direct royal presence and power base in an area heavily influenced by powerful military-religious orders, particularly the Order of Calatrava, with whom the Crown had frequent friction.
Now, let’s forward ahead many hundreds of years. Every country wants to beat its chests to show how things should be done. In Spain, there existed a small place called Ciudad Real. There is also a small airport of the same name. Both the city and its airport, which has a particularly interesting, if somewhat troubled, history. It’s a bit complicated. Watch the video below.
The Ciudad Real International Airport (also known as Don Quijote Airport or Central Ciudad Real Airport) has a highly unusual and often cited history as a “ghost airport” or a symbol of Spain’s pre-financial crisis construction boom. It was a case of bad timing and unfortunate fortunes. As of July 2025, the Ciudad Real International Airport (Don Quijote Airport / CQM) continues its operation primarily as a maintenance, storage, and dismantling facility for aircraft, rather than a bustling commercial passenger hub.
As we watched the video and dug further into the history, something just as curious was the sheer number of airlines that flew in and out of the, to be honest, somewhat small airport.
Do you recall any of these? Flylal. Apatas Air. Nordic Airways. Euro Air. Blue Wings Air Sylhet. LTU International Airways. ThomsonFly. First Choice Airways. Open Skies. Cargo B. ClickAir. MyAir. SkyEurope. None of the listed airlines are currently operating. Flylal (Lauda Air), Apatas Air, Nordic Airways, Euro Air, Blue Wings Air Sylhet (a former name for Biman Bangladesh Airlines), LTU International Airways, ThomsonFly, First Choice Airways, Open Skies, Cargo B, ClickAir, MyAir, and SkyEurope have all ceased operations. Oh, how we wish we could have been there.
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