Loumana Airport

Economic reasons and obsolescence. The airport was a simple, unpaved airstrip, characteristic of those built for specific industrial, agricultural, or missionary purposes. Its closure was almost certainly due to the cessation of the activity it was built to support. This could be due to a shift in logistics from air to improved road transport, the closure of a local industrial operation (such as a cotton processing facility), or a change in corporate strategy for the original operator. There is no evidence of closure due to a major accident or military conversion.

The site is abandoned. Satellite imagery clearly shows the remnants of a single, unpaved runway approximately 1,200 meters (3,900 feet) long. The runway is overgrown with vegetation and is no longer maintained or usable by aircraft. The surrounding land remains agricultural, and the airport site itself has not been repurposed for construction, farming, or any other activity. It exists as a visible scar on the landscape, identifiable only from the air or by its historical designation.

The airport's significance was purely local and logistical. It was never a commercial airport for public passenger transport. Its primary role was likely to support the region's key industry, cotton, which is dominated by the state-owned company SOFITEX (Société Burkinabè des Fibres Textiles). Operations would have involved small, STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) capable propeller aircraft, such as Cessnas or Pipers, used for transporting personnel, high-value spare parts, or for agricultural purposes like crop dusting. It provided a vital air link for a remote rural area before local road infrastructure was sufficiently developed.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Loumana Airport. Given its remote location, the lack of a current economic driver, and the significant investment required to restore and certify the runway, reopening is highly improbable. Any future need for air access in the region would likely be met with helicopters or the construction of a new, modern airstrip if a major commercial project (e.g., mining) were to commence.