Punta Baja Airfield

The primary reason for closure is believed to be economic obsolescence and lack of demand. As road infrastructure in Palawan improved, particularly the main north-south highway, the necessity for a small, remote airstrip for private and charter flights diminished. The cost of maintaining the unpaved runway for dwindling traffic likely became unviable for its operator.

The airfield is completely abandoned and non-operational. Satellite imagery confirms that the former 1,000-meter runway is heavily overgrown with grass and shrubs, although its linear outline is still clearly visible. The site is not used for any formal purpose and appears to be used informally by locals as an access path or track for motorcycles and other vehicles to reach the coastline.

Punta Baja Airfield was a small, unpaved airstrip that served as a vital link for the remote municipality of Rizal in southern Palawan. Its operations were limited to general aviation, handling small propeller-driven aircraft capable of Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL). It was likely used for private transport, logistical support for local businesses (such as agriculture or fishing), and potentially for eco-tourism, providing access to nearby coastal areas and the Ursula Island Game Refuge and Bird Sanctuary. It represented a period when air travel was the most efficient way to reach isolated parts of the Palawan archipelago.

There are no known or published plans to reopen Punta Baja Airfield. The focus of the Philippine government and local authorities for aviation development in Palawan is on larger, existing airports like Puerto Princesa (PPS) and San Vicente (SWL). Given the significant investment required to clear, resurface, and certify the airfield, and the lack of apparent commercial or strategic need, the prospects for its reopening are considered to be negligible to non-existent.