Pokrovka/Ozero Issyk Kul Airport

Primarily economic reasons. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the newly independent Kyrgyzstan could not afford to maintain the extensive network of small, local airfields inherited from the Aeroflot system. The state-run airline was broken up, subsidies vanished, and demand for local flights plummeted due to economic hardship and the rising cost of fuel and maintenance. The airport's traffic was consolidated to larger regional hubs, and eventually, the modern Issyk-Kul International Airport (UCFL/IKU) at Tamchy was developed to serve the entire lake region, making small airfields like Pokrovka obsolete.

The airport is completely abandoned and non-operational. Satellite imagery shows a clearly defined but severely degraded runway, which appears to be unpaved or has had its asphalt surface removed over time. There are no remaining terminal buildings, hangars, or any other airport infrastructure. The land is overgrown with grass and crossed by dirt tracks, suggesting it is likely used for local vehicle passage and possibly for grazing livestock. It exists only as a remnant airstrip on the landscape.

During the Soviet era, Pokrovka Airport was a vital link in the local air network ('Mestnyye Vozdushnyye Linii' - MVL) of the Kirghiz SSR. Its primary function was to connect the administrative center of the Jeti-Oguz District (Pokrovka, now Kyzyl-Suu) and the popular tourist destinations on the eastern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul with the capital, Frunze (now Bishkek), and other regional towns. It primarily handled small, short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL) passenger aircraft such as the Antonov An-2, and possibly the Let L-410 Turbolet or Yakovlev Yak-40. The airport was crucial for government administration, local travel, and facilitating tourism to the nearby sanatoriums and the famous Jeti-Oguz rock formation.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Pokrovka/Ozero Issyk Kul Airport. The Kyrgyz government's aviation development strategy is focused on modernizing its key international and regional airports, such as Manas (Bishkek), Osh, and the Issyk-Kul International Airport at Tamchy. The latter now serves as the primary air gateway for the entire Issyk-Kul region, with a modern runway and facilities capable of handling large passenger jets. Re-establishing a small, economically unviable airfield like Pokrovka is not a government priority.