Bălţi City Airport

The primary reason for closure was planned obsolescence and replacement. The new Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport was constructed with a longer, concrete runway capable of handling larger jet aircraft like the Tupolev Tu-134 and Antonov An-24. The old city airport had a short, unpaved runway and was located within a growing urban area, making it unsuitable for modern aviation needs and posing safety and noise concerns.

The site of the former airport has been completely redeveloped and is no longer recognizable as an aviation facility. The land is now occupied by the Bălți Bus Station (Autogara Bălți), a large market, commercial buildings, and residential areas. The former aviation infrastructure, including the runway, taxiways, and terminal building, has been demolished and fully integrated into the city's urban fabric.

During the Soviet era, this was the primary airport for Bălți and the surrounding region. It was a key hub for regional and domestic air travel within the Moldavian SSR and to neighboring republics of the USSR. Operations were conducted using small, propeller-driven aircraft such as the Antonov An-2, Yakovlev Yak-12, and later the Let L-410 Turbolet. It handled regular passenger flights connecting Bălți with cities like Chișinău, Soroca, and various locations in Ukraine. The airport also served as a crucial base for utility aviation, including sanitary aviation (medevac) and agricultural aviation (crop dusting).

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening Bălți City Airport. The land has been irreversibly repurposed for dense urban development, making any return to aviation activities physically impossible. All discussions regarding the restoration of air services to the Bălți region refer exclusively to the other, larger airport, Bălți-Leadoveni International Airport (ICAO: LZIA).