Markala, ML 🇲🇱 Closed Airport
ICAO
ML-0009
IATA
-
Elevation
1251 ft
Region
ML-4
Local Time
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 13.7° N, -6.067° E
Continent: Africa
Type: Closed Airport
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The exact date of closure is not officially documented. The airport is believed to have fallen into disuse gradually throughout the late 20th and early 21st centuries, with all activity likely ceasing by the early 2010s. The closure was a process of abandonment due to obsolescence and lack of maintenance rather than a single, formal event.
The closure was the result of several combined factors:
1. **Lack of Demand:** As a basic airstrip with no scheduled services, its use dwindled over time.
2. **Infrastructure Deterioration:** The airport consisted of a single unpaved (dirt/laterite) runway which, without regular maintenance, became unusable for safe aircraft operations.
3. **Regional Instability:** The escalating security crisis in central Mali since 2012 made operating a remote and unsecured airfield both dangerous and impractical.
4. **Proximity to a Larger Airport:** The nearby Ségou Airport (IATA: GMS, ICAO: GASI), although also having limited service, provides a more established facility for the region, rendering the rudimentary Markala strip redundant.
The site is currently an abandoned and derelict airstrip. Satellite imagery clearly shows the outline of the approximately 1,500-meter (4,900-foot) runway, but its surface is degraded and overgrown in places. There are no remaining airport buildings, hangars, or facilities. The land is not formally repurposed, but it is crossed by local vehicle tracks and is effectively unused open space.
The primary historical significance of Markala Airport is tied to the construction of the monumental Markala Dam (Barrage de Markala) by the French colonial administration from 1934 to 1947. The airstrip was almost certainly established to support this massive engineering project, used for aerial surveys and the transport of engineers, key personnel, official mail, and light, high-value equipment. After the dam's completion, it likely served administrative and logistical flights for the 'Office du Niger,' the vast agricultural authority that manages the irrigation scheme fed by the dam. It operated purely as a utility and general aviation airfield and never handled commercial passenger traffic.
There are no known or published plans to rehabilitate or reopen Markala Airport. Given the significant security challenges that persist in the Ségou Region, the lack of any economic or logistical driver, and the existence of Ségou Airport to serve regional needs, the prospects for reopening are considered non-existent for the foreseeable future.