Chupanga Airport

The closure was primarily a result of the Mozambican Civil War, which caused widespread disruption, destruction of infrastructure, and economic collapse across the country. As a small, rural airstrip, it was not a priority for maintenance or security. Following the war, economic reasons and a lack of demand prevented its rehabilitation and reopening.

The site is currently an abandoned airfield. Satellite imagery clearly shows the faint outline of a single, unpaved runway which is now completely overgrown with grass and shrubs. It is unmaintained and unusable for any aviation purposes. There are no visible remnants of airport buildings, hangars, or other infrastructure. The land has not been repurposed for construction or agriculture and is slowly being reclaimed by nature.

Chupanga Airport was a small, unpaved airstrip that served as a vital transportation link for the remote Chupanga region on the Zambezi River. Its primary operations involved supporting the local Catholic mission (Boroma Mission), administrative activities, and potentially agricultural enterprises. It facilitated the transport of personnel, such as missionaries, doctors, and government officials, as well as critical supplies like medicine and food. The airstrip would have handled light aircraft, such as Cessna or Piper models, connecting the community to larger towns. The town of Chupanga itself is historically significant as the burial place of Mary Livingstone, the wife of explorer David Livingstone, who died there in 1862.

There are no known or published plans to reopen Chupanga Airport. The focus for aviation infrastructure development in Mozambique is on its larger national and regional airports. Given the derelict state of the airstrip, its remote location, and the limited economic justification, the prospect of it being rehabilitated and reopened is extremely low.