Vechiul Agricultural Airfield

Ștei, RO 🇷🇴 Closed Airport

ICAO

RO-0093

IATA

-

Elevation

1103 ft

Region

RO-BH

Local Time

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Airport Information

GPS Code: Not available

Local Code: Not available

Location: 46.54801° N, 22.48443° E

Continent: EU

Type: Closed Airport

Terminal Information Not Available
Terminal arrivals and departures are only available for airports with scheduled commercial service and IATA codes.

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Airport Information

Airport Closure Information

Last updated: Jul 26, 2025
Closure Date

The airfield ceased operations in the early 1990s. There is no exact official closure date, as it was gradually abandoned following the decline of state-sponsored agricultural aviation after the 1989 Romanian Revolution.

Reason for Closure

The closure was for economic reasons. The airfield's existence was intrinsically linked to the state-owned company 'Aviația Utilitară' and the large-scale, collectivized farming system of Romania's communist era. After the 1989 Revolution, the collapse of this agricultural model, the fragmentation of farmland, and the drastic downsizing of the agricultural aviation fleet made hundreds of small, specialized airfields like this one economically unviable and obsolete.

Current Status

The site is completely abandoned and in a state of advanced disuse. Satellite imagery shows the former unpaved runway is heavily overgrown with vegetation and is now barely discernible from the surrounding agricultural fields. The land has effectively reverted to farmland or is lying fallow. There are no remaining buildings, hangars, or any aviation infrastructure on the site.

Historical Significance

Vechiul Agricultural Airfield was a typical utility airstrip built during Romania's communist period. Its sole purpose was to support agricultural aviation ('Aviația Utilitară'). It served as a seasonal operational base for crop-dusting aircraft, most notably the rugged Antonov An-2 biplane, which performed aerial spraying of fertilizers and pesticides on the large state-owned farms in the Crișul Negru valley. It was a purely functional airstrip with a single, unpaved grass or dirt runway and minimal support facilities. It held no passenger, sport, or military significance and was simply a piece of infrastructure vital for the region's collectivized agriculture at the time.

Reopening Prospects

There are no known official or unofficial plans, proposals, or prospects for reopening the airfield. The original economic justification for its existence is gone, and there is no apparent demand for general, commercial, or utility aviation at this specific location that would justify the significant investment required to clear, rebuild, and certify the facility.

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