Nueva Italia Airport

The airport was forcibly closed by government authorities as part of a large-scale strategy to combat organized crime. The Tierra Caliente region was a stronghold for drug cartels (such as the Knights Templar at the time), which used small, remote airfields as 'pistas clandestinas' (clandestine airstrips) for transporting narcotics, weapons, and personnel. To deny criminal organizations this critical logistical asset, federal forces systematically disabled unsupervised airstrips like Nueva Italia.

The site is completely abandoned and in a state of dereliction. The former dirt/gravel runway is overgrown with vegetation, and the trenches dug by authorities to disable it are still clearly visible on satellite imagery. The land has not been repurposed for any other use and is effectively being reclaimed by the surrounding environment. There are no remaining buildings or infrastructure.

Prior to its closure, Nueva Italia Airport was a small aerodrome primarily serving the region's significant agricultural industry. Its main operations included agricultural aviation (crop dusting for the vast lime, mango, and melon fields in the valley) and general aviation for local landowners, business operators, and private pilots. It never hosted scheduled commercial passenger or cargo services. Its historical significance is twofold: first as a support facility for the local economy, and later as a strategic liability in Mexico's conflict with organized crime.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the airport. The security concerns that led to its closure persist in the region. Furthermore, there is no economic or logistical incentive to restore a small airfield when larger, more secure airports such as Uruapan International Airport (UPN) and Lázaro Cárdenas National Airport (LZC) serve the broader region. Reopening is considered extremely unlikely.