Castejón de los Monegros Airfield

The closure was a direct result of the complete failure of the 'Gran Scala' mega-project. The airfield was a private development built exclusively to provide air access to this proposed Las Vegas-style entertainment and casino complex in the Monegros desert. The project collapsed due to the 2008 global financial crisis, which prevented the consortium of investors (International Leisure Development - ILD) from securing the required €17 billion in funding. Additional factors included political disagreements and environmental concerns. With no resort to serve, the airport had no purpose and was abandoned before ever opening for commercial traffic.

The site is abandoned and in a state of slow decay, though the main runway and taxiways remain physically intact. It is a well-known 'ghost airport' in Spain, closed to all aviation traffic and not maintained. Due to its isolated location and long, empty runway, the facility has been used unofficially and sometimes officially for non-aviation purposes. These include illegal car races, professional automotive testing by car manufacturers, closed-course driving events, and as a filming location for commercials, television shows, and movies.

The airfield's significance is not in its operational history, but as a major physical symbol of the Spanish pre-2008 property bubble and the era of speculative 'white elephant' projects. It was constructed as a private aerodrome, a key piece of infrastructure for the 'Gran Scala' project. It was designed with a substantial paved runway (approximately 2,500 meters long and 45 meters wide) and taxiways capable of handling commercial jetliners like the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, anticipating heavy tourist traffic for the planned casinos and theme parks. However, it saw virtually no official air traffic beyond potential survey flights or private visits related to the project's development before being abandoned, earning it the status of a 'ghost airport'.

There are no known credible or funded plans to reopen the Castejón de los Monegros Airfield for aviation purposes. The original economic justification for its existence is gone, and the region's low population density cannot support an airport of this size, especially with the larger Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ) and the underused Huesca-Pirineos Airport (HSK) relatively nearby. Any future use is more likely to be non-aviation related. Proposals have included converting it into a permanent vehicle test track, a large-scale solar power plant (leveraging the region's high sun exposure), or other industrial uses that can take advantage of the large, flat, and isolated land area.