Waca Airport

The official reason for closure is not documented. However, the closure of small, remote airfields like Waca is typically due to a combination of factors, including:
1. **Obsolescence due to Improved Infrastructure:** The development and improvement of road networks in the region likely made air travel to Waca less critical and more expensive than ground transport.
2. **Cessation of Primary Use:** Such airstrips were often built and maintained by specific users, like missionary groups (e.g., Mission Aviation Fellowship), NGOs, or for government administrative purposes. If these operations ceased in the area, the airport would fall into disuse.
3. **High Maintenance Costs:** Maintaining even a simple grass or gravel runway requires resources. Without a consistent user or funding, the airstrip would deteriorate and become unsafe for operations.

The airport is permanently closed and no longer functional. Analysis of satellite imagery at the coordinates (7.167, 37.167) confirms that the site of the former runway has been completely converted into agricultural land. The outline of the old airstrip is faintly visible, but the area is now covered with farm plots and grazing land. There are no remaining signs of airport infrastructure such as buildings, hangars, or runway markers.

Waca Airport was a minor airfield with a single unpaved runway, approximately 1,200 meters (3,937 feet) in length. Its non-standard ICAO identifier (ET-0012, as official Ethiopian airports begin with 'HA') indicates it was likely a private or special-purpose airstrip, not a public commercial airport. Its primary role would have been to provide access to the remote town of Waca for light aircraft. Operations would have included transporting personnel and supplies for humanitarian, missionary, or government activities, as well as providing a vital link for medical evacuations before the area was well-connected by roads. It would have served small propeller aircraft (like the Cessna 206 or Pilatus Porter) capable of short and rough field takeoffs and landings.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Waca Airport. Given that the land has been repurposed for agriculture by the local community and the likely improvement of ground transportation to the area, there is no apparent economic or logistical driver for re-establishing an aviation facility at this site. Reopening would require significant investment to acquire the land, clear it, and rebuild the runway from scratch, which is highly improbable.