Guapalayna Airport

There is no official documented reason for the closure. Small, private airstrips in this region often cease operations for a combination of reasons. The most likely factors include:
1. **Economic Non-viability:** The cost of maintaining a remote airstrip may have become too high for its private owner or operator.
2. **Cessation of Need:** The business it supported (e.g., a specific tourist lodge, a mine, or a ranch) may have closed.
3. **Government Action:** The Sierra Tarahumara is a known corridor for drug trafficking. It is common for Mexican military or federal police to disable remote, unregulated airstrips to prevent their use by cartels. This type of closure is often not publicly announced.

The airport is completely abandoned and derelict. Recent satellite imagery confirms that the dirt runway is heavily overgrown with shrubs and grass, making it totally unusable for any type of aircraft. There are no buildings or infrastructure remaining, and the site appears to be slowly being reclaimed by the surrounding natural environment. It is not used for any other purpose.

Guapalayna Airport was a small, local airstrip whose significance was tied to its remote location deep within the Copper Canyon. It was not a commercial airport but a private-use field.

- **Operations:** Its unpaved, relatively short runway (approximately 850-900 meters) would have restricted operations to Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) capable aircraft, such as Cessna 206s, Helio Couriers, or Pilatus Porters.
- **Purpose:** It most likely served one of three purposes: providing air access for high-end tourism to remote lodges, supporting a private ranch (hacienda) or a mining exploration camp, or serving as a clandestine airfield for illicit activities. It provided a vital transportation link in an area where ground travel is extremely difficult and time-consuming.

There are no known or published plans to reopen or redevelop Guapalayna Airport. The significant cost of clearing, regrading, and maintaining the airstrip, combined with its extreme remoteness and the lack of any new economic drivers in the immediate vicinity, makes the prospect of its reopening extremely low to non-existent.