Chepes Airport

The primary reason for the official closure was the airport's failure to meet the minimum operational safety conditions and regulatory standards required by ANAC. Like many small, regional airstrips in Argentina, it fell into disuse due to economic non-viability and the high cost of upgrading the infrastructure (such as paving the runway and adding modern facilities) to comply with current aviation regulations. Its closure was part of a nationwide administrative process by ANAC to de-register numerous non-compliant aerodromes.

The airport site is completely abandoned and non-operational. Satellite imagery of the coordinates confirms the location of the former airstrip, but the runway is heavily overgrown with shrubs and dissected by informal dirt tracks. There are no visible remnants of airport infrastructure such as buildings, hangars, or navigational aids. The land is unused and has reverted to a natural state.

Chepes Airport was a small, unpaved aerodrome that served as an important transportation link for the relatively isolated town of Chepes, the administrative center of the Rosario Vera Peñaloza Department. In its active years, it primarily handled general aviation (private aircraft), air taxi services, and crucial government flights, including medical evacuations and official transport. It provided a vital connection for the community to larger provincial cities before the region's road network was fully developed. Operations were restricted to small, robust aircraft (like Cessnas and Pipers) capable of landing on and taking off from a dirt or gravel runway.

There are currently no concrete, funded plans to reopen or rebuild the airport. However, the restoration of air connectivity to Chepes is a recurring topic in local and provincial political discussions. Politicians and community leaders have periodically advocated for the project, citing potential benefits for tourism, economic development, and emergency services. Proposals have ranged from renovating the old site to constructing a new, paved airport, but these have not progressed beyond the aspirational or early planning stages due to the significant financial investment required for construction and certification.