Urubupunga Airport

Economic and logistical redundancy. The airport was a purpose-built facility by CESP (Companhia Energética de São Paulo) to support the construction of the Urubupungá Hydroelectric Complex, specifically the Jupiá and Ilha Solteira dams. Once these massive infrastructure projects were completed and operational in the 1970s, the intense flow of heavy cargo, equipment, and personnel ceased. The airport's primary mission was complete, making its continued operation economically unviable. The nearby, smaller Ilha Solteira Airport (ICAO: SBIL) was later established to handle the regular, long-term needs of the city.

The airport is closed and abandoned for all official aviation activities. The paved runway and some taxiways are still physically intact but are in a state of disuse and disrepair, with faded markings and vegetation growth. The site is known to be used unofficially by the local community for non-aviation purposes, such as car and motorcycle meets, amateur drag racing, and driver training. The land remains undeveloped, with no active facilities.

Urubupunga Airport was a vital logistical hub for one of Brazil's largest and most important engineering feats of the 20th century. During the 1960s and 1970s, it was the primary gateway for building the Jupiá and Ilha Solteira dams. It handled a high volume of traffic, including large cargo aircraft transporting heavy machinery and materials, and regular passenger flights for thousands of engineers, technicians, and workers. Notably, the Brazilian airline VASP operated scheduled commercial flights to the airport, including with Boeing 737 aircraft, connecting the remote construction site to major cities like São Paulo, which was crucial for the project's success.

There are no known official plans or credible prospects for reopening this specific airport (BR-1962). The region's current aviation demand is met by the smaller Ilha Solteira Airport (SBIL). Given the high cost of restoring the infrastructure to modern aviation standards and the lack of a new, large-scale industrial project that would justify its existence, the prospects for its reopening are considered to be virtually zero.