Gradsko Airfield

Military abandonment. Gradsko Airfield was a military facility that became redundant after the breakup of Yugoslavia. The new Army of the Republic of North Macedonia had a much smaller air force and consolidated its operations at the main Petrovec Air Base (Skopje International Airport). There was no longer a strategic need or the financial resources to maintain a network of reserve dispersal airfields like Gradsko.

The airfield is abandoned and in a state of significant decay. The runway surface is cracked, weathered, and has vegetation growing through it. While officially closed and derelict, its long, straight pavement makes it a popular, though unofficial and often illegal, location for automotive activities. It is frequently used for drag racing, car drifting, driver training, and vehicle testing, as evidenced by numerous tire marks on the runway surface. The site has no official function and is not maintained.

Gradsko Airfield was a reserve military airbase (known in Serbo-Croatian as 'rezervno letalište') for the Yugoslav Air Force and Air Defence (JRZ i PVO). It was a key part of Yugoslavia's unique 'Total National Defense' doctrine, which relied on the ability to disperse military assets to survive a first strike. Strategically located adjacent to the primary north-south 'Brotherhood and Unity Highway' (now the A1/E75), it could be activated quickly. Its primary function was to serve as a wartime dispersal field where combat aircraft (such as the Soko J-22 Orao or MiG-21) could land, be refueled, re-armed, and take off from a location away from vulnerable main airbases. It was never intended for or used as a public civilian airport.

There are no known official plans or credible prospects for reopening Gradsko Airfield for any form of aviation. The national aviation needs of North Macedonia are served by the international airports in Skopje (LWSK) and Ohrid (LWOH). The cost to restore the runway, taxiways, and build the necessary modern infrastructure would be substantial, with no clear economic or strategic justification. The site is likely to remain in its current abandoned state or be repurposed for non-aviation use in the future.