Île de la Tortue Airstrip

The closure was not due to a specific incident but was a result of gradual abandonment. The primary reasons include a lack of economic viability, the high cost of maintenance for a remote dirt strip, and the overarching political and economic instability in Haiti. As a small, secondary airstrip on the island, its operations likely ceased when the specific entity or purpose it served (such as a private development project, a specific mission, or charter service) was no longer active.

The site is completely abandoned and derelict. High-resolution satellite imagery confirms that the former runway is entirely overgrown with grass, shrubs, and vegetation. The outline of the strip is barely visible from the air and is indistinguishable from the surrounding terrain on the ground. There is no remaining infrastructure, such as buildings or markers. The land has reverted to its natural state and is not used for any purpose.

This was a small, unpaved airstrip located on the isolated western tip of Île de la Tortue, known as Pointe Ti Bois or Pointe-à-l'Îlet. It was separate from the island's principal (and now also closed) airport, Tortuga Airport (MTAT), which served the main town. The HT-0014 airstrip was rudimentary and could only handle small, single-engine aircraft with STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) capabilities, such as Cessnas or similar bush planes. Its operations were likely private and intermittent, possibly serving a small resort, a missionary outpost, NGO activities, or private landowners. Given its remote and unmonitored location, it may have also been used for illicit transport.

There are no known or credible plans to reopen this specific airstrip. Its remote location, small size, and complete state of disrepair make it an impractical candidate for rehabilitation. While there have been recurring discussions and proposals over the years for large-scale tourism development on Île de la Tortue, which include plans for a new international airport, these ambitious projects would involve constructing a modern facility elsewhere on the island, not restoring this small, defunct dirt strip. The prospects for the reopening of HT-0014 are effectively zero.