Mesa Ceriachi Airport

No single official reason has been publicly cited for the closure. However, it is most likely attributable to a combination of factors common in the Sierra Tarahumara region:
1. **Security Concerns:** The municipality of Uruachi is located in a region with a heavy presence of organized crime. Remote, unsupervised airstrips are often forcibly used for illicit drug trafficking. The Mexican government has a history of closing or disabling such airstrips to disrupt cartel logistics. The high security risk would also make legitimate operations untenable.
2. **Economic Viability:** The airstrip primarily served the local mining industry and the remote community. A decline in mining activity, a shift to more cost-effective ground transportation (despite poor road conditions), or the high cost of maintaining a remote dirt runway could have rendered it economically unsustainable.

The airport is currently abandoned and derelict. The physical runway on the mesa is still visible via satellite, but it is unmaintained, overgrown with vegetation, and the surface has significantly eroded. It is completely unusable for any aviation purposes in its present condition. The site has not been repurposed and remains an abandoned airstrip.

Mesa Ceriachi Airport was a critical infrastructure asset for the isolated mining town of Uruachi, located deep within the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. Its primary functions included:
- **Mining Support:** Transporting personnel, equipment, and high-value materials for the region's gold and silver mines, such as the nearby Concheño mine.
- **General Aviation:** Providing essential access for residents, medical evacuations, and government services to a community where ground travel is difficult and time-consuming.
- **Operations:** The airport featured a single dirt/gravel runway approximately 1,500 meters (4,921 feet) in length, located on a distinct mesa (flat-topped hill) overlooking the town. It was suitable for Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) aircraft, such as Cessna and Pilatus models, which are commonly used in rugged, remote terrain.

There are no known or published plans to repair or reopen Mesa Ceriachi Airport. Given the substantial investment required to restore the runway and the persistent, severe security challenges in the region, the prospect of reopening is considered highly improbable in the foreseeable future.