Archar Airport

Primarily economic reasons. The airport was part of the state-run agricultural aviation network (Селскостопанска авиация - SSA). After the fall of communism in 1989, the collective farming system was dismantled, and the centralized, state-funded agricultural aviation service collapsed. With its primary purpose gone and no funding, the airport fell into disuse and was abandoned.

The airport is completely abandoned and in a state of ruin. The paved runway is still visible but is severely degraded, cracked, and overgrown with vegetation. It is impassable for aircraft and is sometimes used by locals as a dirt track. The associated infrastructure, including any hangars or administrative buildings, is derelict and collapsing. The land has largely been reclaimed by nature and surrounding agricultural fields.

Archar Airport was a typical utility airfield built during Bulgaria's socialist period. Its sole purpose was to serve the agricultural industry in the highly fertile Vidin region, located near the Danube River. It was a base for crop-dusting aircraft, most notably the Antonov An-2, which performed aerial application of fertilizers and pesticides on the large collective farms (TKZS). The airport was a vital component of the centrally planned agricultural economy of that era, contributing to the region's productivity. It was not designed for passenger or significant cargo traffic.

There are no known or realistic prospects for reopening Archar Airport. The cost of rebuilding the runway and all necessary infrastructure would be substantial. Given the economic situation and depopulation of the Vidin province (one of the poorest in the EU), there is no commercial or private demand that would justify such an investment. The nearby, larger Vidin Airport is also closed, and even its potential reopening has faced numerous challenges, making the revival of a small, ruined agricultural strip like Archar highly improbable.