Roșiorii de Vede Airfield

The primary reason for closure was military strategic re-evaluation and economic factors following the end of the Cold War. As a dispersal airfield, its purpose became obsolete with the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact. The newly restructured Romanian Air Force downsized its operations and consolidated its forces at primary air bases, making the maintenance of numerous secondary airfields like Roșiorii de Vede economically unviable.

The site is completely abandoned and in a state of severe disrepair. Satellite imagery shows the concrete runway and taxiways are still visible but are heavily cracked, fragmented, and extensively overgrown with grass and shrubs, rendering them unusable. The land is being reclaimed by nature and is partially used for local agriculture. There are no remaining functional buildings or infrastructure on the site.

Roșiorii de Vede was a military dispersal airfield built during the Cold War, likely in the 1950s, for the Romanian Air Force. Its main strategic purpose was to serve as a secondary, hardened airfield for the fighter aircraft stationed at the nearby Deveselu Air Base (home to the 91st Fighter Regiment). In the event of a conflict, aircraft such as the MiG-21 and later MiG-23 would have been dispersed from Deveselu to Roșiorii de Vede to increase their survivability against a pre-emptive strike. The airfield was used for periodic military training and readiness exercises but never handled commercial or civilian air traffic.

There are no known or credible plans to reopen or redevelop the Roșiorii de Vede Airfield for aviation purposes. The prohibitive cost of rebuilding the runway and infrastructure, coupled with a lack of local economic or strategic demand for an airport, makes any prospect of reopening highly improbable. Its proximity to the major military installation at Deveselu, now a key NATO base, further complicates any potential civilian use.