Svetlina Cropduster Strip

Primarily economic reasons. The airstrip was part of a vast network of agricultural airfields operated by the state-owned company 'Selsko-stopanska aviatsiya' (Agricultural Aviation) during the socialist era. After the fall of the communist regime in 1989, the collective farming system (TKZS) was dismantled, and land was privatized. This led to the collapse of the state-run agricultural aviation monopoly, as the new, smaller private farms did not have the need or the financial means to support such operations. The high cost of maintaining aircraft like the Antonov An-2 and the lack of a centralized customer base made hundreds of these small strips, including Svetlina, economically unviable.

The site is completely abandoned and defunct for aviation purposes. Satellite imagery shows the faint outline of the former grass/dirt runway, which is now heavily overgrown and indistinguishable from the surrounding fields. A significant portion of the land on and immediately adjacent to the former airstrip has been repurposed for a large photovoltaic power plant (solar farm). The land is now used for renewable energy generation and agriculture, with no remaining aviation infrastructure.

Svetlina Cropduster Strip was a vital component of local agriculture in the Haskovo Province during Bulgaria's socialist period (pre-1989). Its primary function was to support the large collective farms in the region. Operations almost exclusively involved agricultural aircraft, most notably the Antonov An-2 biplane. These planes were used for crop dusting, aerial seeding, and the spraying of fertilizers and pesticides over the vast, collectivized fields. The airstrip's significance was purely functional and agricultural, representing the industrialized approach to farming under the centrally planned economy. It had no scheduled passenger or significant military role.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the airstrip. The lack of any economic or logistical demand for an airfield at this location, combined with the fact that the land has been partially redeveloped into a solar farm, makes its revival as an aviation facility extremely unlikely. It is considered permanently closed.