Aras-Asan Airstrip

Economic. The airstrip was a private facility built and maintained by the Aras-Asan Timber Company (ARTIMCO) for its logging business. The company's operations declined and eventually stopped in the late 1980s and early 1990s following the expiration of its Timber License Agreement (TLA) and a nationwide government crackdown on logging. With the company's closure, the airstrip lost its purpose and was abandoned.

The airstrip is defunct and no longer used for aviation. The concrete runway remains largely intact but is in a state of disrepair. It has been repurposed by the local community and now functions as a public road, a shortcut between local barangays, a site for drying agricultural products like palay (unhusked rice) and copra, and an informal venue for recreational activities such as drag racing. Vegetation is encroaching on the edges of the pavement, and all former support facilities are gone or derelict.

The Aras-Asan Airstrip was a vital piece of private infrastructure during the peak of the logging industry in Surigao del Sur. Its primary function was to serve the Aras-Asan Timber Company. It handled private and chartered light aircraft, such as Cessnas and Beechcraft King Airs, which were used to transport company executives, engineers, VIPs, and urgent spare parts to and from their remote logging concession. The airstrip provided a crucial, rapid link to major cities like Manila, Cebu, and Davao, bypassing the long and arduous land travel of that era. It was a symbol of the company's significant economic power and influence in the region.

There are no known official plans or credible prospects for reopening the Aras-Asan Airstrip. The commercial air traffic needs of the province are served by the nearby Tandag Airport (TDG). The significant cost required to rehabilitate the runway and build modern facilities, combined with the absence of a major industrial or economic driver that would necessitate a private airstrip, makes its revival for aviation purposes highly improbable.