Las Varas (Estación Babícora) Airport

While not officially documented, the closure was likely due to one or more of the following reasons:
1. **Economic Obsolescence:** The airstrip was probably built to serve a specific agricultural or ranching enterprise. A change in ownership, a decline in the business's profitability, or a shift to more efficient ground transportation could have rendered the airfield obsolete.
2. **Security Concerns:** The state of Chihuahua is a focal point for operations against drug trafficking. The Mexican military (SEDENA) has a long-standing policy of disabling unauthorized or clandestine airstrips to prevent their use for illicit activities. It is highly plausible that the airstrip was either abandoned by its owners to avoid complications or was intentionally rendered unusable by authorities.

The airport is abandoned and completely unusable. Satellite imagery from its coordinates (29.47129, -108.02372) shows a clearly visible but severely deteriorated dirt runway, approximately 1.5 km (4,900 ft) in length. The surface is unmaintained, overgrown with vegetation, and crossed by numerous vehicle tracks. There are no significant airport buildings, hangars, or infrastructure remaining. The land has effectively reverted to being part of the surrounding rural and agricultural landscape.

Las Varas (Estación Babícora) Airport was a private general aviation airstrip. Its strategic location next to the Laguna de Babícora, one of Mexico's most important high-altitude wetlands and a major agricultural zone, indicates its purpose was to support local agribusiness. Operations would have consisted of:
- **Personnel and Owner Transport:** Flying owners, managers, and clients to and from the remote ranches or farms.
- **Agricultural Aviation:** Potentially used for crop-dusting aircraft serving the vast fields in the basin.
- **Light Cargo:** Transporting essential supplies, equipment parts, or high-value products.
It was never a public commercial airport and did not handle scheduled passenger traffic. Its existence was tied directly to the economic activity of the immediate area.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening this airport. Its reactivation is considered extremely unlikely due to several factors:
- The complete deterioration of the runway would require a total reconstruction.
- The original economic need for the airstrip no longer appears to exist.
- The nearby Madera Airport (IATA: N/A, ICAO: MMED) serves as the primary, albeit limited, aviation facility for the municipality.
- Persistent security challenges in the region make investment in remote, difficult-to-secure airfields unviable.