Bocoyna Airport

The primary reason for its closure was redundancy and obsolescence following the construction of the nearby Barrancas del Cobre International Airport (ICAO: MMCA) in Creel. The new, modern airport was designed to be the primary air hub for the Copper Canyon tourism region, making the small, unpaved Bocoyna strip economically unviable and logistically unnecessary. The high cost of maintaining even a basic airstrip for minimal traffic likely contributed to its abandonment as regional focus and funding shifted to the new, larger project.

The site is completely abandoned and derelict. Recent satellite imagery confirms the former dirt runway is still faintly visible but is heavily overgrown with scrub brush and grass. It is significantly eroded and is crossed by numerous informal vehicle tracks, indicating it is now used as a local access road or simply unused land. There is no remaining aviation infrastructure, and the site is not maintained for any purpose.

Bocoyna Airport was a small, unpaved airstrip (known in Mexico as an 'aeródromo' or 'pista aérea') that served the municipality of Bocoyna. Its operations were limited to general aviation, primarily handling small, single-engine propeller aircraft such as Cessna 206s, which are common for accessing remote areas in the Sierra Tarahumara. Its historical importance was purely local, providing vital services including: air taxi flights connecting to other towns, charter flights for tourists visiting the Copper Canyon, access for private pilots and local business/ranch owners, and a critical departure point for medical evacuation flights from a remote and mountainous area.

The prospects for reopening are effectively zero. The official opening of the Barrancas del Cobre International Airport in Creel in February 2024, located just 25 km (15 miles) away, has permanently eliminated any strategic or economic need for the old Bocoyna airstrip. The new airport features a long, paved runway, modern terminal facilities, and can handle commercial jet aircraft, providing far superior service for the entire region and rendering the rudimentary Bocoyna strip obsolete.