Jaunkalsnava Airstrip

Economic reasons following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The airstrip was built to serve the Soviet collective farm (kolkhoz) system. With the dissolution of the USSR and the subsequent privatization and restructuring of agriculture in Latvia, the state-sponsored, large-scale aerial crop-dusting operations it supported were no longer economically viable or necessary. The infrastructure fell into disuse as the demand ceased.

The airstrip is abandoned for aviation purposes. The paved runway, approximately 400 meters long, is still visible but is in a state of significant disrepair, with cracks, surface degradation, and vegetation growth. Satellite imagery shows the site is actively being used for industrial or agricultural storage. Large piles of bulk materials, likely wood chips or sawdust related to Latvia's forestry industry, are stored on and adjacent to the former runway. The site is not maintained for and is unsuitable for any aircraft operations.

Jaunkalsnava Airstrip was a typical Soviet-era agricultural airfield, known in Russian as an 'aviakhimrabot' (АХР) or 'chemical aviation work' field. Its primary and sole purpose was to serve as a base for agricultural aircraft, almost exclusively the Antonov An-2 biplane. These planes were used for the widespread aerial application of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides on the vast fields of the local collective farms. The airstrip was a critical piece of infrastructure for the Soviet model of industrialized agriculture, representing a network of thousands of similar small airfields across the USSR that enabled intensive farming practices. It has no history of passenger or significant military operations; its significance is purely tied to the agricultural history of the region during the Soviet period.

There are no known or publicly discussed plans to reopen Jaunkalsnava Airstrip for aviation. The significant deterioration of the runway surface, its current use for industrial storage, and the lack of any apparent demand for local aviation services make its reopening highly improbable. A complete reconstruction of the runway and facilities would be required, which is not considered economically feasible.