Pista do Cabo Sardão

The closure was a result of a combination of factors, primarily regulatory and environmental. The key reasons are:
1. **Location within a Protected Area:** The airstrip is situated inside the 'Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina' (PNSACV), a highly protected natural park. Increased environmental scrutiny and enforcement of regulations by the ICNF (Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas) made continued operation untenable.
2. **Unlicensed Status:** PT-0072 was an identifier for an uncertified 'Pista de Ultraleves' (ULM Airstrip), not a certified aerodrome. These types of airstrips operate in a regulatory grey area, and many were closed down across Portugal due to pressure from the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) to comply with stricter safety and legal standards.
3. **Lack of Maintenance:** Without a formal entity responsible for its upkeep and facing regulatory hurdles, the airstrip ceased to be maintained, quickly becoming unsafe and unusable.

The site is completely abandoned and derelict. Satellite imagery and recent ground-level reports confirm that the runway is heavily overgrown with bushes and other vegetation. It is no longer distinguishable as a functional airstrip and is completely unusable for any type of aircraft. The land is effectively reverting to its natural state, consistent with its location within the natural park. There are no remaining facilities or infrastructure.

The Pista do Cabo Sardão never held major historical or commercial significance as a public airport. Its importance was primarily within the recreational aviation community.

- **Operations Handled:** It exclusively served private, recreational pilots, particularly those flying ultralight (ULM/microlight) aircraft.
- **Strategic Value for Pilots:** Its unique location on the stunning Vicentine Coast made it a highly desirable destination for leisure flights, offering pilots breathtaking aerial views of the coastline between Sines and Sagres. It was a popular stop for pilots touring the coast of Portugal.
- **Informal Utility:** Like many small rural airstrips, it may have been informally used for agricultural aviation (crop dusting) or as a potential staging point for aerial firefighting operations, although its primary purpose was recreational.

The prospects for reopening the Pista do Cabo Sardão are virtually non-existent.

- **Environmental Barriers:** The primary and most significant obstacle is its location within the PNSACV natural park. Obtaining the necessary environmental permits from the ICNF and other authorities to clear the land and restart aviation operations would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, under current environmental protection laws.
- **Lack of Political or Economic Will:** There are no known plans, proposals, or lobbying efforts from any governmental or private entity to reopen the airstrip. The economic case for investing in its restoration is non-existent, given it would only serve a very small niche of recreational pilots.
- **Regulatory Costs:** Bringing the airstrip up to modern safety and certification standards required by ANAC would be financially prohibitive for a private venture.