Belladère Airport

The closure was primarily due to a combination of factors rather than a single event:
1. **Economic Non-viability:** As a small, remote airstrip, it was expensive to maintain. The volume of traffic was never high enough to make it self-sustaining.
2. **Improved Ground Transportation:** While roads in the region remain challenging, gradual improvements over decades made air travel less critical for the type of light transport the airport handled.
3. **Political and Security Instability:** Haiti's persistent political instability and lack of centralized government resources meant that funding and maintaining remote infrastructure like the Belladère airstrip was not a priority. The focus remained on the major international airports.
4. **Decline in Use:** The primary users, such as missionary groups (like Mission Aviation Fellowship - MAF) and NGOs, shifted their operational strategies or reduced their presence in the area, diminishing the need for the airstrip.

The airport site is completely abandoned and defunct. Satellite imagery confirms that the former runway is heavily overgrown with grass and vegetation, making it indistinguishable from the surrounding fields except for its linear shape. There is no remaining aviation infrastructure such as buildings, hangars, or navigation aids. The land is now likely used for informal local purposes such as animal grazing, agriculture, or as a public open space by the local community.

Belladère Airport was a small, unpaved airstrip that served a critical role in connecting the remote, mountainous border town of Belladère with Port-au-Prince and other parts of Haiti. Its historical significance lies in its function as a lifeline for the region before road networks were more developed.

- **Operations Handled:** It exclusively handled small, single-engine general aviation aircraft (e.g., Cessna 206/207). Operations included:
- **Missionary and NGO Flights:** Transporting personnel, medical supplies, and essential goods to and from the remote community.
- **Medical Evacuations (Medevac):** Providing a crucial link for emergency medical transport from a region with limited healthcare facilities.
- **Light Cargo and Mail:** Facilitating the movement of small goods and correspondence.
- **Government/Administrative Transport:** Occasional use by government officials visiting the region.

- **Identifier Note:** The ICAO code 'HT-0006' is a non-standard, national identifier used within Haiti's civil aviation system for small airfields, not an official ICAO airport code which would typically be four letters (e.g., MTPP for Port-au-Prince).

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Belladère Airport. Given the severe and ongoing political, security, and humanitarian crises in Haiti, the national government and international bodies are focused on maintaining essential services and securing major infrastructure. The resources, political will, and security conditions required to rebuild, secure, and operate a remote airstrip like Belladère do not exist and are not a priority in the foreseeable future.