Izborsk Airport

The airport's closure was a direct result of the economic turmoil following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It was part of the vast, state-subsidized local air services network (in Russian: Местные воздушные линии, MVL) operated by Aeroflot. With the collapse of the USSR, this system became financially unsustainable. The sharp increase in fuel costs, the decline of the centralized economy, and the dismantling of the collective farms (which relied on the airport for agricultural aviation) eliminated both the funding and the demand for its services.

The site is completely abandoned and defunct. Satellite imagery of the coordinates reveals a clearly defined but entirely overgrown and unmaintained grass/dirt runway. There are no visible signs of any remaining airport infrastructure such as hangars, a terminal, or control tower. The land is unused and is slowly being reclaimed by the surrounding fields and vegetation. It exists only as a remnant of a past era of Soviet local aviation.

During the Soviet era, Izborsk Airport was a typical small, local airfield ('aerodrom') serving the historically significant town of Izborsk and its surrounding rural communities in the Pskov Oblast. Its primary function was to connect remote populations with the regional center, Pskov, for passenger and light cargo transport. Operations were almost exclusively handled by rugged, short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL) aircraft, most notably the Antonov An-2 biplane. In addition to passenger flights, the airfield was a vital base for agricultural aviation (crop dusting and aerial application) and likely supported air ambulance and other essential utility flights.

There are no known or publicly discussed plans to reopen Izborsk Airport. The original demand for such hyper-local air travel has been replaced by improved road networks and bus services. The nearby Pskov Airport (IATA: PKV, ICAO: ULOO) adequately serves the current aviation needs of the entire region. The economic case for restoring and operating a small, rudimentary airfield like Izborsk is non-existent in the current transportation landscape.