Santiago do Cacém, PT 🇵🇹 Closed Airport
PT-0071
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- ft
PT-15
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 37.883254° N, -8.448293° E
Continent: EU
Type: Closed Airport
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The airfield ceased operations around the mid-2010s, likely between 2015 and 2017. It was officially removed from the national Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) by NAV Portugal, marking its permanent and irreversible closure.
The primary reason for the closure was land redevelopment. The site was repurposed for the construction of a large-scale photovoltaic solar power plant. This industrial development made continued aviation operations impossible. The cessation of activities by the local flying club that managed the strip, the Clube Aéreo do Litoral Alentejano (CALA), was also a contributing factor leading to the site becoming available for redevelopment.
The site of the former Pista de Fonte Serne is no longer an airfield and is completely unusable for aviation. A large solar farm now occupies the land, with photovoltaic panels installed directly on and adjacent to the footprint of the former runway. Satellite imagery clearly shows the industrial solar plant covering the area, with no trace of the runway or aviation facilities remaining.
Pista de Fonte Serne was not a major airport but served as a vital local hub for general aviation and ultralight aircraft. Its significance was primarily recreational and for flight training. It was managed and primarily used by the members of the Clube Aéreo do Litoral Alentejano (CALA). The operations consisted of:
- Ultralight (ULM) flight training and certification.
- Recreational and sport flying for private pilots in the Litoral Alentejano region.
- A social hub for the local aviation community.
The facility was basic, consisting of a single unpaved dirt/grass runway (approximately 650 meters long) and minimal support structures, typical of a small club-operated airfield.
There are zero prospects for reopening the Pista de Fonte Serne at its original location. The permanent installation of the solar farm makes this physically and economically impossible. While there have been occasional discussions and proposals over the years for a new, more modern aerodrome to serve the growing industrial and logistical hub of nearby Sines and the tourism of the Alentejo coast, these plans are for a completely new facility at a different location and are not related to the defunct PT-0071 airstrip.
Private agricultural airstrip of "Monte dos Alhos". In very bad condition: barely discernible from the surrounding field.