Lubondaie Airport

The closure was not due to a single event but was a gradual process of abandonment driven by several factors. The primary reason was the significant scaling back of the American Presbyterian Congo Mission (APCM) operations in the region due to the Congo Wars. The mission was the primary builder, user, and maintainer of the airstrip. The widespread insecurity, collapse of local infrastructure, and departure of foreign personnel meant there was no longer the capability or need to maintain and operate the airstrip. Its closure is a direct result of the mission's decline and the broader socio-political collapse in the region at that time.

The site is completely abandoned as an airfield. Analysis of recent satellite imagery shows the former dirt/grass runway is heavily overgrown with vegetation and is no longer distinguishable as an active airstrip. The land is now used by the local population for footpaths and likely for small-scale subsistence agriculture. There are no remaining aviation facilities, and the site is unusable for any aircraft operations without complete reconstruction.

Lubondaie Airport was not a public or commercial airport but a private airstrip of immense local importance. Its history is inextricably linked to the American Presbyterian Congo Mission (APCM), which established a major mission station at Lubondaie. The airstrip served as a critical lifeline for the mission, which operated a hospital, schools, and a printing press. In a region with poor and often impassable roads, the airstrip was essential for transporting personnel (missionaries, doctors, teachers), critical medical supplies, mail, and other essential goods. Operations consisted of small, single or twin-engine propeller aircraft, likely operated by organizations such as the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) or by the mission itself. It connected the remote Lubondaie station to larger cities like Kananga and the outside world.

There are no known plans or realistic prospects for reopening Lubondaie Airport. The original purpose, serving a large-scale foreign mission station, no longer exists. There is no current economic or strategic incentive for the government or private entities to invest the significant funds required to clear, regrade, and rebuild the airstrip and its supporting infrastructure. Any future air access to the immediate area would likely be accomplished via helicopter or by rehabilitating a larger, more central regional airport.