Celone Airfield

The closure was due to the end of its military purpose. Celone Airfield was a temporary wartime airfield constructed specifically for strategic bombing operations during WWII. With the conclusion of the war in Europe, the base was no longer required by the USAAF. As a temporary facility with basic infrastructure (like pierced steel planking runways), it was not suitable for conversion to a permanent civilian airport without significant investment and was therefore abandoned.

The site has been completely demilitarized and returned to civilian use. The faint, ghostly outlines of the main runway and taxiways are still visible in aerial and satellite imagery. The land is now primarily used for agriculture, with crops covering most of the former operational area. A large portion of the former airfield, particularly on its eastern side, has been repurposed and is now occupied by a large-scale ground-mounted solar farm (photovoltaic power station). There is no remaining aviation infrastructure on the site.

Celone Airfield was a significant component of the Foggia Airfield Complex, a network of bases in southern Italy that was crucial to the Allied war effort in WWII. It served as a heavy bomber airfield for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Fifteenth Air Force. Its primary mission was to conduct strategic bombing raids against enemy targets in Germany, Austria, and the Balkans. It notably hosted the 461st Bombardment Group and the 484th Bombardment Group, both of which flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers. The airfield was built rapidly by the US Army Corps of Engineers and was a purely functional, temporary military installation, typical of the many airfields established in the area during the Italian Campaign.

There are no known plans or realistic prospects for reopening Celone Airfield. The site's current use for agriculture and a major solar energy installation makes any redevelopment for aviation purposes economically unfeasible and highly improbable. The region's aviation needs are served by the nearby Foggia 'Gino Lisa' Airport (IATA: FOG, ICAO: LIBF), which negates any requirement for reviving the old Celone facility.