Tsar-Kaloyan Cropduster Strip

Primarily economic reasons tied to political change. The airfield was part of a vast network of agricultural strips operated by the state-owned company 'Agricultural Aviation' ('Селскостопанска авиация'). This network served the large, state-run collective farms of the socialist era. Following the fall of the communist regime in 1989, Bulgaria underwent a transition to a market economy, which included the privatization and restitution of agricultural land. The large collective farms were dismantled, eliminating the business model for a centralized, state-run crop-dusting fleet. Consequently, this and hundreds of similar airfields across the country became obsolete and were abandoned.

The airport is closed and abandoned. Satellite imagery confirms the existence of a single, paved runway in a state of significant decay. The surface is cracked, weathered, and has vegetation growing through it. There are no remaining airport buildings or active aviation facilities on site. The runway is derelict and not used for any official purpose, though it may be used informally by locals as a road or for storage. The site is a relic of a past agricultural system.

The Tsar-Kaloyan strip was a purely functional agricultural airfield with local and regional importance. Its purpose was to support the intensive, industrialized agriculture of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. Operations consisted of frequent flights by crop-duster aircraft, most notably the Antonov An-2, but also potentially Polish-made PZL-101 Gawron or PZL-Mielec M-18 Dromader aircraft. These planes performed aerial application of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides on the vast cooperative farm fields in the Razgrad Province. The airfield was a critical piece of infrastructure for maximizing crop yields under the centrally planned economy.

There are no known or reported plans to reopen the Tsar-Kaloyan Cropduster Strip for aviation purposes. The economic and agricultural model that required such an airfield no longer exists. Modern agricultural practices in the region rely on ground-based machinery, more targeted application methods, or smaller unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). The cost of restoring the runway and facilities to an operational standard would be prohibitive with no clear economic benefit. The site is expected to remain abandoned or be eventually repurposed for non-aviation use, such as agriculture or industrial development.