La Ruidosa Airport

The closure was almost certainly due to economic reasons and lack of use. Small, private airstrips like La Ruidosa are expensive to maintain and typically serve a specific purpose, such as supporting a large ranch, a mining operation, or a local business. When that primary purpose ceases, the airstrip is often abandoned. There is no evidence of a major accident, military conversion, or specific government order that led to its closure. It simply became obsolete or economically unviable for its owners/operators.

The site is currently abandoned. The 3,600-foot (1,100-meter) dirt/gravel runway is still clearly visible from the air, but it is unmaintained, overgrown with desert scrub, and eroded. There are no remaining buildings, hangars, or aviation markings. The strip is occasionally used by locals as an unimproved dirt road, as evidenced by tire tracks visible in recent satellite imagery. It is not secured or used for any official purpose.

La Ruidosa was a basic utility airstrip. Its significance was purely logistical, providing air access to a very remote area of the Chihuahuan Desert. When active, it would have handled light, single-engine aircraft (e.g., Cessna 172/182, Piper PA-28) with STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) capabilities suited for its short, unpaved runway. Operations would have included private transportation for ranchers, transport of personnel and equipment for mining or geological surveys, and potentially government or law enforcement patrol flights. It was a vital link for a community far from major infrastructure, but it held no major regional or national importance. Despite the town of Coyame's fame due to the alleged 1974 'Coyame UFO Incident', there is no credible evidence connecting this specific airstrip to that event.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening La Ruidosa Airport. The cost to clear, regrade, certify, and maintain the airstrip would be substantial. Given its remote location and the existence of ground transportation via Highway 16, there is currently no economic or logistical driver that would justify the investment in reactivating the facility. Its reopening is considered highly improbable.