Ailigandí, PA 🇵🇦 Closed Airport
PA-0021
-
19 ft
PA-GY
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 9.23903° N, -78.03922° E
Continent: NA
Type: Closed Airport
Traveler reviews and experiences for Ailigandí North Airport (PA-0021), also known as Ailigandí Airport (AIL/MPAI), are extremely limited or nonexistent in recent public online sources. The airport appears to be a very basic airstrip primarily serving the island town of Ailigandí in the Guna Yala comarca of Panama, suggesting a functional rather than amenity-rich travel experience.
Ailigandí North Airport (AIL/MPAI) is best understood as a utilitarian airstrip facilitating essential travel to and from a remote area of Panama. Travelers should expect a highly basic experience with minimal to no facilities and plan for boat transfers as the primary mode of ground transportation.
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Approximately late 2015. The airport was officially replaced upon the inauguration of the new mainland Ailigandí Airport (MPAL) on December 10, 2015.
The airport was permanently closed due to extreme safety concerns and its replacement by a modern facility. The primary reasons were:
1. **Replacement:** It was replaced by the new, longer, and safer Ailigandí Airport (IATA: AIL, ICAO: MPAL) built on the nearby mainland.
2. **Hazardous Conditions:** The island airstrip was notoriously dangerous. It was extremely short, with no overrun area, ending directly in the sea on one side and dense housing on the other.
3. **Environmental Factors:** The low-lying runway was frequently subject to flooding during high tides or storms, making landings and takeoffs impossible or treacherous.
4. **Land Scarcity:** The densely populated island of Ailigandí needed the land for community expansion.
The airport site no longer exists. Immediately following its closure, the land was reclaimed by the local community to alleviate severe overcrowding on the island. The area where the runway once stood has been completely built over with houses and other community structures. Current satellite imagery shows a dense residential area with no remaining trace of the former airstrip.
For many years, Ailigandí North Airport served as the primary and often sole connection for the remote Guna community on Ailigandí island to the rest of Panama. Despite its reputation as one of the most dangerous airstrips in the country, it was a vital lifeline. Operations consisted exclusively of STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) capable aircraft, such as Cessna 206s, Cessna 208 Caravans, and Britten-Norman Islanders. These small charter flights, operated by airlines like Air Panama and the former Aeroperlas, were critical for:
- **Tourism:** Bringing visitors to the Guna Yala (San Blas) region.
- **Medical Evacuations:** Providing the fastest route for critically ill or injured residents to reach hospitals in Panama City.
- **Logistics:** Transporting essential goods, mail, and supplies to the isolated island community.
There are zero plans or prospects for reopening. The site has been irreversibly developed for residential use. All air traffic and services for the Ailigandí community are now handled by the superior mainland Ailigandí Airport (MPAL), which has rendered the old, hazardous island airstrip completely obsolete and physically impossible to restore.