Sunset Strip Airport

No single official reason for the closure has been published. However, the closure is almost certainly due to a combination of factors common for small, remote airstrips:
1. **Redundancy:** The nearby Menindee Airport (IATA: MEN, ICAO: YMED) is a larger, paved, and better-maintained facility that serves the entire region, including Sunset Strip. The proximity of this superior airport likely made the small, unsealed Sunset Strip airstrip redundant.
2. **Economic Viability:** The cost of maintaining even a basic dirt airstrip (grading, insurance, compliance) was likely not sustainable for the small community of Sunset Strip, especially with a publicly funded alternative nearby.
3. **Lack of Use:** The airstrip likely saw infrequent use, primarily by a few private pilots. A decline in use would have made it impractical to keep open.

The airport is permanently closed and abandoned. Satellite imagery shows the former dirt runway is no longer maintained, is significantly overgrown with vegetation, and is being reclaimed by the surrounding landscape. Faint outlines of the strip are still visible from the air, but it is unusable for aviation. The land appears to be unused for any other formal purpose.

Sunset Strip Airport was a minor, local airstrip with no major historical significance on a national level. Its importance was confined to the small community of Sunset Strip, a residential and holiday village on the shore of Lake Menindee. When active, it handled:
- **General Aviation:** Operations consisted primarily of light, single-engine private aircraft used for recreational flying and private transport to the remote community.
- **Charter and Utility:** It may have been used occasionally by small charter operators.
- **Emergency Services:** It could have served as an auxiliary landing ground for services like the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) in situations where the main Menindee Airport was inaccessible, though YMED was the primary airport for such services.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Sunset Strip Airport. Given its proximity to the operational and superior Menindee Airport (YMED), which is maintained by the local council, there is no practical or economic justification to reinstate this small, basic airstrip. It is considered permanently closed.