Bundagul Airstrip

The primary cause was the catastrophic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991, which buried the airstrip and the entire Clark Air Base complex under a thick layer of heavy, wet volcanic ash (lahar), rendering it unusable. This natural disaster was immediately followed by the formal withdrawal of the United States military from the Philippines. Clark Air Base, including all its auxiliary facilities like Bundagul Airstrip, was officially turned over to the Philippine government in November 1991, permanently ending its operational life as a military airfield.

The site is completely abandoned and no longer functional as an airstrip. The faint outline of the original runway is still visible from satellite imagery, but it is in a state of total disrepair and overgrown with vegetation. Crucially, the former runway has been physically and permanently bisected by the modern Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), which cuts directly across its path. The surrounding land is now part of the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone and consists of open fields, some agricultural use, and encroaching industrial or commercial development. It is not maintained for any aviation purposes.

Bundagul Airstrip was a secondary, auxiliary airfield for the massive Clark Air Base, which was operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) until 1991. Its primary role was to support the main base operations. It was used for:
1. **Overflow Traffic:** Handling aircraft when the main runways at Clark were congested.
2. **Transport and Logistics:** Servicing tactical transport aircraft like the C-123 Provider and C-130 Hercules, which could operate from less-prepared surfaces.
3. **Training:** Used for pilot training, including touch-and-go landings and short-field takeoff/landing practice.
4. **Dispersal Field:** In a potential conflict scenario, it served as a dispersal location to make aircraft less vulnerable to a concentrated attack on the main base.
Its operations were entirely military and integral to the logistical and strategic functions of Clark Air Base, which was one of the most significant overseas U.S. military installations during the Cold War.

Effectively zero. The prospect of reopening Bundagul Airstrip is nonexistent for several key reasons:
1. **Physical Obstruction:** The construction of the SCTEX directly through the former runway makes its restoration physically impossible without a massive, prohibitively expensive, and illogical rerouting of a major national highway.
2. **Proximity to a Major Airport:** The world-class Clark International Airport (CRK), which uses the former main runways of Clark Air Base, is located just a few kilometers away and serves as the primary, modern aviation hub for the entire region. There is no operational or economic need for this small, redundant airstrip.
3. **Land Use and Development:** The land is under the jurisdiction of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and is part of the master plan for the Clark Freeport Zone and the nearby New Clark City. Its value is for commercial, industrial, or residential development, not aviation.