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The 6 Most Underused Airports In The World (VIDEO)

Posted: 11/03/11 09:25 AM ET
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Sometimes, big building projects with the best of intentions wind up tragically underused and despite the growing popularity (and accessibility) of air travel, airports are no exception. These airports, built with a sort of "build it and they will come" mentality, failed to attract passengers for a diversity of reasons.

As you begin to look into travel for the holiday season, we've provided a a list of the six most underutilized airports in the world, which may cost more for you to travel through with less accommodations than more well-known airports. We also discuss how the top six underused airports ended up in their current state.

6. Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, US
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The biggest and busiest airport in the state, this airport is still struggling for passengers. It has seen slight gains in recent years, and the airport's latest attempt to save itself was by attracting air cargo flights from China.

- Reasons for under-use: The bankruptcy of TWA and buyout from American Airlines in 2001, not to mention the 2011 tornado which damaged the property and closed off an entire concourse, have all greatly affected passenger traffic.
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Sometimes, big building projects with the best of intentions wind up tragically underused and despite the growing popularity (and accessibility) of air travel, airports are no exception. These airport...
Sometimes, big building projects with the best of intentions wind up tragically underused and despite the growing popularity (and accessibility) of air travel, airports are no exception. These airport...

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Roadgeek
6 Fans
08:22 PM on 11/04/2011
I would add Panama City (Northwest Florida Beaches) International Airport to the list. Planned at a time when the Gulf Coast of Florida looked to be on the cusp of a real estate boom, the crash left airport financier St Joe corps holding the bag.
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Luis Miguel
0 Fans
12:58 PM on 11/04/2011
Another one:
Airport of Beja in Portugal.
Received de first flight on 13th April, 2011.
Since then had 1 flight week with 164 passangers in 3 months.
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SwampeastMike
79 Fans
05:06 AM on 11/04/2011
St. Louis Lambert is indeed a ghost town. Pretty bad when a tornado closes down an entire concourse and it has almost no affect because they simply opened one that was unused. That concourse remains boarded up as do most of the windows in the main terminal building. Meanwhile someone (taxpayers I presume) are still paying for a quite new billion dollar runway that sits almost completely idle.
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
JScott
John Galt's last name is McGuffin-Smithee
368 Fans
10:57 AM on 11/03/2011
Palmdale International Airport I think was finally closed as a scheduled commercial airlines facility.

Kinda crazy idea anyway just like Ciudad Real it's way to far from LA..
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
JScott
John Galt's last name is McGuffin-Smithee
368 Fans
10:51 AM on 11/03/2011
Ciudad Real is halfway to Cordoba, jeez didn't they get it, Barajas is closer and way more convenient and can be accessed by the metro system.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Gentleman Agitator
"...morality is, in fact, hidden in everything.."
164 Fans
10:43 AM on 11/03/2011
Yes, you can thank American Airlines for Lambert. Promises made after the TWA takeover turned to lies. The mess that is US Airways is Pittsburgh's problem. One facility that is really fine is CVG Cincinnati. Delta has pared it down more in more after the merger with Northwest. An incredible shame because it is so easy to use, clean and modern.
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