Bailén (Granada), ES 🇪🇸 Closed Airport
ES-0263
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- ft
ES-AN
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 38.03774° N, -3.76585° E
Continent: EU
Type: Closed Airport
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Approximately between 2012 and 2015. The closure was a gradual process of abandonment rather than a single, officially announced date. Satellite imagery from this period shows the runway progressively falling into disuse and becoming overgrown, with clear evidence of agricultural conversion by 2016-2017.
Economic reasons and land repurposing. El Barranco was a small, private airfield for ultralight (ULM) aircraft. Such airfields often operate on thin margins and are susceptible to closure if they are no longer financially viable for the owner. The land was subsequently converted for agricultural use, which is the most common reason for the closure of small, private airfields in rural Spain. The area is now an olive grove, a primary agricultural industry in the province of Jaén.
The site is no longer recognizable as an airfield. The land has been fully converted into a productive olive grove. The former dirt runway has been plowed over and planted with olive trees, completely integrating the plot into the surrounding agricultural landscape. Any associated buildings have likely been repurposed for farm use or demolished.
El Barranco was a private airfield (aeródromo) dedicated to recreational flying, primarily for ultralight aircraft. Its significance was entirely local, serving as a hub for aviation hobbyists in the Bailén area and the wider province of Jaén. It was never a commercial airport and did not handle passenger or cargo traffic. Operations consisted of private flights and potentially ULM flight training. The identifier ES-0263 is a non-official code used in some databases; it did not possess an official ICAO code (which would start with 'LE' for Spain). It is important to note that the airfield is located in Bailén (province of Jaén), not Granada as stated in the query.
There are no known plans or prospects for reopening El Barranco airfield. The complete conversion of the land to agriculture, specifically a perennial crop like olive trees, makes any future return to aviation use extremely unlikely and financially unfeasible.
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