El Mezquite Airstrip

No official reason for the closure has been published. For small, private airstrips of this nature in rural Mexico, closure is typically due to one or more of the following factors: 1) **Economic Reasons:** The owner (likely a private ranch or agricultural business) no longer had the need or financial resources to maintain and operate the airstrip. 2) **Obsolescence:** The business or activity that required the airstrip may have ceased. 3) **Security Concerns:** Given its location in a border region known for illicit trafficking, it is possible that the airstrip was decommissioned or abandoned to prevent its use for illegal activities, a common fate for many unmonitored strips in northern Mexico.

The site is completely abandoned and non-operational as an airfield. Satellite imagery from the 2020s shows the former runway is severely deteriorated, heavily overgrown with desert vegetation, and washed out in several places. A dirt track or ranch road now cuts across the southern end of the runway trace. There are no remaining signs of aviation infrastructure such as hangars, windsock, or markings. The land has effectively reverted to natural desert terrain and is indistinguishable from the surrounding landscape except for the faint, linear scar of the former runway.

El Mezquite Airstrip held no major historical significance in the context of national or commercial aviation. It was a small, private-use airfield, as indicated by its non-standard ICAO identifier (MX-1611). Its operations were characteristic of a remote 'ranch strip,' likely handling:
- **General Aviation:** Small, single-engine aircraft for private transportation of personnel or landowners.
- **Agricultural Aviation:** Potentially used for crop dusting or other agricultural support activities in the surrounding area.
- **Logistics:** Facilitating access to a remote area for business or ranching purposes.
It never supported commercial, scheduled, or military operations and consisted of a single dirt or gravel runway with minimal to no supporting infrastructure.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening El Mezquite Airstrip. The complete degradation of the runway surface would require a total reconstruction, a significant and costly undertaking. There is no apparent economic or logistical demand that would justify its reactivation, especially with other air facilities in the region (such as in Ojinaga and across the border in Presidio, TX). Given the security situation in the border region, the reactivation of a remote, unmonitored airstrip is highly improbable.