Finca 12 Airport

Economic and operational obsolescence. The airport was a private agricultural airstrip. Its closure was likely due to a combination of factors: 1) Consolidation of aviation operations by fruit companies into larger, more centralized airports like Ramón Villeda Morales International (MHLM) in San Pedro Sula. 2) Increased efficiency and range of modern crop-dusting aircraft, reducing the need for numerous small airstrips. 3) Improved ground transportation infrastructure in the region. 4) The land becoming more economically valuable for direct agricultural production (palm oil cultivation) than for maintaining an airstrip with declining use.

The site has been completely reclaimed for agricultural use. Satellite imagery confirms that the entire area of the former runway and any associated facilities has been removed and is now an active and mature oil palm plantation. There are no visible remnants of its past as an airfield.

Finca 12 Airport was a private airstrip integral to the operations of the large-scale fruit plantations in the Sula Valley. The name 'Finca 12' indicates it served the #12 plantation, almost certainly for the Tela Railroad Company, a subsidiary of the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita Brands International). Its primary operations included:
- **Crop Dusting:** Serving as a base for small aircraft to conduct aerial fumigation of banana crops, a critical process for disease and pest control.
- **Logistical Support:** Facilitating the transport of key personnel, managers, engineers, and medical staff between various remote plantations ('fincas') and regional headquarters.
- **Light Cargo:** Used for the rapid transport of urgent spare parts for agricultural machinery and other essential supplies.
The airport was part of a vast network of similar private airstrips that formed the logistical backbone of the powerful American fruit companies that dominated the Honduran economy in the 20th century.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the airport. Reopening is considered extremely unlikely due to several factors: the site is now a productive and privately-owned palm oil plantation, the original economic reasons for its closure remain valid, and the region is well-served by the nearby Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport for any significant aviation needs. The cost to acquire the land, clear the plantation, and rebuild the infrastructure would be prohibitive and without any clear economic justification.