Baranikha Airport

Primarily economic reasons following the dissolution of the USSR. The airport's sole purpose was to serve the settlement of Baranikha, which was a major base for the state-funded 'Anyuyskaya' geological exploration expedition. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, state funding for such expeditions ceased, leading to the shutdown of the base. As workers left and the settlement was abandoned, the airport became obsolete and fell into disuse.

The airport is completely abandoned and unmaintained. Satellite imagery shows a clearly defined but decaying unpaved runway in the tundra, adjacent to the ruins of the Baranikha settlement. The airstrip is overgrown and unsuitable for use by fixed-wing aircraft. All associated infrastructure has fallen into ruin. The site has no official current use and is now part of a ghost town.

Baranikha Airport was a vital logistical lifeline for the remote Soviet-era geological community in the Kolyma region. Its primary function was to support the large geological exploration base focused on prospecting for gold and other minerals. As a typical local service airfield ('Mestnyye Vozdushnyye Linii' - MVL), it handled essential passenger and cargo traffic, connecting the isolated settlement with regional centers like Bilibino, Pevek, and Chersky. Operations were carried out by the workhorses of Soviet Arctic aviation, primarily Antonov An-2 and An-26 aircraft for supplies and personnel, and Mil Mi-8 helicopters for local field support. The airport was crucial for the functioning and survival of the settlement.

There are no known plans or realistic prospects for reopening Baranikha Airport. The original economic reason for its existence has disappeared, and the settlement it served no longer exists. Re-establishing an airport at this remote location would require a massive new investment driven by a significant strategic or economic development, such as the discovery of a major new mineral deposit, for which there are currently no indications.