So it is unsurprising that the country's government decided to invest in more airports when Spain was at the height of its boom.

However, the public sector has been slammed for reckless public spending which is contributing to the country's financial woes after it emerged up to 30 of the 47 state-run airports only deal with 100,000 passengers per year.

One airport - Badajoz, near the Portuguese border - saw its last commercial flight take off in January, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Another in Huesca, near the Pyrenees, is open - complete with restaurants - despite flights only coming in during the winter months for skiing.

The Ministry of Industry is working with AENA, Spain's airport association, will look to reduce operating hours at three-quarters of the airports in a bid to cut costs without closing them altogether.

It is thought staff numbers will be reduced unless flights are due in a a skeleton staff will be on hand for emergencies.

'We are analysing each one, airport by airport, to find where we can make cost-cutting,' said a spokesman from AENA.

Airportsat Valladolid, Burgos, Salamanca and Leon have all been put on an 'at risk' list.

But the president of AENA's airport agency, José Manuel Vargas, said: 'It doesn't make sense to close infrastructures when they have already been built.'

It is now just Spain's state-run airports that have been in difficulty.

In Ciudad Real, just north of Madrid, it had been hoped an airport would supply a second way for passengers to reach the capital.

But late last year the hopeful to rival Madrid Barajas was cut from many routes due to lack of demand.