Chayek Airport

The closure was primarily due to economic reasons. With the collapse of the USSR, the centrally planned and heavily subsidized Aeroflot system, which operated a vast network of local routes, disintegrated. The newly independent Kyrgyzstan faced a severe economic crisis, making it impossible to continue funding and maintaining small, unprofitable airfields like Chayek. The sharp increase in fuel costs and a dramatic drop in demand for local air travel rendered its operation unsustainable.

The airport is completely abandoned and non-operational. Satellite imagery of the site shows a clearly discernible but unmaintained dirt and gravel runway. There are no remaining airport buildings, such as a terminal or hangars. The land is now used informally for livestock grazing and as a track for local vehicles. The faint outline of the runway is the only significant evidence of its former use as an airfield.

During the Soviet era, Chayek Airport was a vital transportation link for the remote Jumgal District in the mountainous Naryn Region. It connected the local population to regional centers and the capital, Frunze (now Bishkek), for passenger travel, mail delivery, and medical evacuations. The airport primarily handled small, rugged aircraft capable of operating from unpaved runways, with the Antonov An-2 being the most common type. It also played a role in the local economy by supporting agricultural aviation, such as crop dusting. For a community in a region with difficult overland transport, the airfield was a crucial piece of infrastructure.

There are no known or publicly discussed plans to reopen Chayek Airport. The economic case for its revival is extremely weak. The Kyrgyz government's aviation strategy focuses on upgrading a few key regional airports to support tourism and business, not on re-establishing small, local airstrips. The cost of rebuilding the infrastructure, certifying the airfield, and subsidizing flights would be prohibitive, especially given that ground transportation, while still challenging, serves the current needs of the region.