Lichuaco Airfield

The closure was due to economic reasons and obsolescence. As a small, private airstrip, the operational and maintenance costs likely outweighed its utility for its owners. This is a common fate for post-war private and agricultural airfields in the Philippines as aviation needs and land use priorities change. There is no record of a specific incident, accident, or military action that caused its closure.

The site of the former Lichuaco Airfield has been completely repurposed and is now used for agriculture. The land where the runway once existed is now a patchwork of cultivated fields, primarily rice paddies. There are no visible remnants of any airport infrastructure such as a runway, taxiways, or hangars.

The airfield has significant World War II history. It was originally constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers during the Philippines Campaign (1944-45) and was known as **Tayug Airfield**. It was a crucial tactical airfield for the US Army Air Forces during the liberation of Luzon. From April to August 1945, it hosted several units, most notably the 312th Bombardment Group, which flew A-20 Havoc attack bombers on missions against Japanese forces in Northern Luzon. After the war, the airfield was turned over to the Philippine government and eventually became a private airstrip named Lichuaco Airfield, likely used for agricultural purposes (such as crop dusting) and general aviation by its private owners.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening the original Lichuaco Airfield. The complete conversion of the land to private agricultural use makes its revival as an airport extremely unlikely. While there were some political proposals around 2018-2019 to establish a new community airport in eastern Pangasinan to boost tourism and the local economy, with Tayug mentioned as a potential location, these plans were for a new facility and have not seen significant progress. Any future airport in the area would almost certainly be built at a new site.