Rio Usumacinta Airstrip

The airstrip was closed to civilian traffic and converted into a military installation as a direct result of the Zapatista (EZLN) uprising, which began on January 1, 1994. The Mexican Army took control of strategic infrastructure in the region, including this airstrip, to establish a forward operating base for counter-insurgency operations, troop deployment, and to secure the sensitive border area with Guatemala along the Usumacinta River.

The site is currently an active Mexican Army base, identified as a 'Campo Militar'. Satellite imagery clearly shows that the original runway, while still visible in outline, is no longer maintained for aviation. It has been repurposed for military use, including vehicle parking, drills, and as a general-purpose space within the base. The facility includes barracks, administrative buildings, a parade ground, and other military infrastructure. The area is an active military zone and is strictly off-limits to the public.

Prior to its closure, the Rio Usumacinta Airstrip was a vital logistical hub for tourism in the Lacandon Jungle. Its primary function was to provide air access to the remote and otherwise difficult-to-reach Mayan archaeological sites of Yaxchilán (located directly on the Usumacinta River) and Bonampak (located further inland). Small charter aircraft, typically single-engine planes like the Cessna 206, would fly tourists from larger towns such as Palenque or San Cristóbal de las Casas. Upon landing at the airstrip, visitors would then travel by boat ('lancha') down the river to Yaxchilán. This air-to-river route was the fastest and most popular way to visit these significant ruins, making the airstrip a crucial component of the regional tourism economy in the 1980s and early 1990s.

There are no known plans or realistic prospects for reopening the Rio Usumacinta Airstrip for civilian or commercial use. Its strategic importance as a permanent military installation in a historically sensitive border region makes its reversion to a civilian facility extremely unlikely. The regional tourism model has since adapted to the airstrip's closure; tourists now typically travel to the area via a long road journey to the town of Frontera Corozal, from where they hire boats to visit Yaxchilán.