Murcia San Javier closed on January 14, 2019 (Image: Wikicommons)
Millions of euros in EU funding have been funnelled into “ghost” airports across Europe — and British taxpayers are still footing some of the bill years after leaving the bloc, it has been claimed. Frank Furedi, executive director of MCC Brussels, blamed what he called “the sellout Brexit deal” negotiated by the Tories and endorsed by Labour as creating a situation when the UK is still on the hook to Brussels for failed and failing infrastructure projects.
The European Commission’s Financial Transparency System (FTS) provides a public record of the EU budget, yet it contains a significant structural gap regarding regional infrastructure. While the FTS analysis tool tracks funds managed directly by Brussels, it typically excludes “Shared Management” projects—the category responsible for approximately 75% of EU spending, including the development of regional airports.
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At Badajoz Airport, £5.3 million (€6.15 million) was spent despite there being no pressing need to do so (Image: Wikicommons)
Mr Furedi highlighted a 2014 investigation by the European Court of Auditors which examined EU-funded airport projects across multiple member states. It found repeated cases in which regional airports were expanded despite weak demand, declining passenger numbers, or limited long-term viability.
The reason such “ghost” projects continue to haunt the public purse is due to the EU’s “drip-drip” reimbursement model, known as the Reste à Liquider (RAL).
Under this system, the European Commission does not pay for major infrastructure projects in a single lump sum; instead, it settles bills in instalments over many years as work is completed. Despite the UK’s departure from the bloc, Article 140 of the Withdrawal Agreement legally binds British taxpayers to pay their share of these outstanding commitments made during the 2014–2020 budget cycle.
Mr Furedi said: “British taxpayers continue to pay for EU waste such as this thanks to the sellout Brexit deal negotiated by the Conservatives, and Labour are happy to continue giving the EU billions for years to come. The EU’s record on funding so-called ‘ghost airports’ is a textbook case of bureaucratic vanity projects trumping common sense.”
“From Spain to Greece, we see the same pattern repeated: airports expanded despite falling passenger numbers or even shuttered entirely after EU money was spent. This isn’t investment – it’s institutionalised waste.”
The report highlighted several cases where major infrastructure investment did not translate into sustained usage. In some instances, airports were later closed to commercial traffic or left significantly underused. One of the most cited examples is Murcia-San Javier Airport, which received about £17.3 million (€20 million) in EU funding for runway, taxiway and control infrastructure.
£5.2million (€6 million) was spent at Vigo airport – with no discernible boost to passenger numbers (Image: Wikcommons)
Auditors found delays in bringing facilities into operation and a 43% drop in passenger numbers between 2007 and 2013. The airport closed to commercial flights in 2019, with services transferred to a nearby replacement facility.
Mr Furedi explained: “Murcia-San Javier is a striking example – €20 million spent, only for passenger operations to be shut down entirely a few years later. If this happened in the private sector, there would be outrage and accountability. In Brussels, it’s business as usual.”
At Badajoz Airport, £5.3million (€6.15 million) was spent on terminal and runway upgrades. The Court of Auditors found no pressing need for expansion, with low utilisation even at peak times and a 68% fall in passenger numbers over the audit period.
Mr Furedi added: “Even where airports remain open, like Vigo or Badajoz, the evidence shows dramatic drops in passenger numbers after expansion. These are not engines of growth – they are monuments to flawed Soviet style central planning right at the heart of the European Union.”
In Vigo Airport, £5.2million (€6 million) in EU funding was spent on the terminal. Auditors found the upgrades failed to generate additional passenger traffic, with usage falling by more than half between 2007 and 2013.
The report also highlighted significant overlap with nearby airports. Mr Furedi stated: “Where funds are allocated, there is very little incentive to ask whether the project is needed or viable.”
Other airports referenced in the audit include regional facilities in Cordoba, Kastoria, Burgos and Crotone, as well as larger island airports such as La Palma Airport and Fuerteventura Airport.
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The term “ghost airports” is used by critics to describe regional airports that receive substantial public funding but end up significantly underused, financially unsustainable, or in some cases later closed to commercial traffic. It is not an official EU designation but is widely used in debates about infrastructure spending.
Mr Furedi observed: “The deeper issue here is a system that rewards spending for its own sake. Once funds are allocated, there is very little incentive to ask whether the project is needed or viable.”
Tracking more recent EU spending at individual airports is difficult, as funding is often channelled through national or regional authorities rather than directly attributed to specific sites.
That makes transparency more complex in public databases maintained by the European Commission. The issue has also been tied to the UK’s ongoing financial obligations under the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, under which Britain continues to contribute to agreed EU commitments despite leaving the bloc.
Treasury figures suggest total UK net payments will reach around £25 billion by 2025, with a further £5–10 billion expected thereafter.
According to the latest HM Treasury figures released in March 2026, the UK still faces roughly £5.3 billion in future outstanding net liabilities to the EU.
This means that as regional authorities in Spain or Greece submit final “completion bills” for airports commissioned over a decade ago, the UK continues to receive bi-annual invoices to cover its portion of the costs—effectively paying off the mortgage on European infrastructure long after the British public voted to leave.
Mr Furedi warned: “British voters were promised freedom from precisely this kind of waste when they chose to leave the European Union.
“Yet figures like Keir Starmer now seem intent on dragging Britain back towards a system that has consistently failed to deliver value for money.”
Mr Furedi concluded: “Re-aligning with EU structures risks re-exposing the UK to the same culture of opaque decision-making and lack of accountability that produced these ‘ghost airports’ in the first place. EU decision-making screams beware to British taxpayers.”
The European Commission has previously defended its regional funding programmes, saying they are designed to improve connectivity and support economic development in less prosperous regions.
However, critics continue to point to the Court of Auditors’ findings as evidence that some projects failed to deliver value for money, leaving behind underused infrastructure funded by public money.
Express.co.uk has contacted the European Commission for comment.