Francisco I Madero Airport

The closure was likely due to a combination of factors rather than a single event. The most probable reasons are:
1. **Security Concerns:** The state of Tamaulipas experienced a significant increase in cartel-related violence and insecurity during the 2010s. Small, remote, and unsecured airstrips like this one became high-risk for legitimate operations and potential targets for illicit use, leading companies to cease flights for safety reasons.
2. **Economic & Logistical Shifts:** The airstrip primarily served the natural gas industry in the Burgos Basin. Changes in operational logistics, such as increased use of helicopter transport, improved road networks, or the consolidation of flights to larger, more secure regional airports (like Reynosa International Airport, MMRX), likely rendered the small airstrip economically unviable to maintain.
3. **Obsolescence:** The facility was a very basic unpaved strip with no supporting infrastructure (terminals, fuel, lighting). As aviation operations modernized, companies likely preferred the superior facilities and security of established airports.

The site is currently abandoned and derelict. High-resolution satellite imagery confirms that the physical runway is still visible from the air, but it is completely unmaintained. The dirt/gravel surface is overgrown with grass and shrubs and shows signs of erosion. There is no infrastructure on the site, and it is not being actively used for any other purpose, such as agriculture or storage. It is, for all practical purposes, a ghost airfield.

Francisco I. Madero Airport was a private utility airstrip, not a public commercial airport. Its main historical significance was its role in supporting the exploration and production activities in the Burgos Basin, one of Mexico's most important natural gas fields. When active, it handled general aviation aircraft, including single and twin-engine planes, used to transport personnel, technicians, executives, and light cargo for the state oil company (PEMEX) and its various private contractors. It may also have been used for local agricultural aviation (crop dusting) and by private aircraft belonging to local ranchers or businesses.

There are no known or publicly announced plans to rehabilitate or reopen the Francisco I. Madero Airport. Given the persistent security challenges in the region, the significant cost of restoring and securing the airstrip, and the availability of superior airport infrastructure in nearby cities like Reynosa, the prospects for its reopening are considered extremely low to non-existent.