Bakhanay Airfield

The closure was a direct result of economic changes following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The centralized state funding and subsidy system that supported Aeroflot's vast network of local air services (Местные воздушные линии - MVL) collapsed. Without government support, maintaining and operating an airfield for a small, remote settlement like Bakhanay became economically unsustainable. This was a common fate for thousands of small, local airfields across Russia during that era.

The airfield is abandoned and defunct. Satellite imagery of the coordinates reveals a clearly visible but unmaintained dirt and grass runway. The strip is overgrown and appears to be partially used as a local road or track. There are no signs of any current aviation activity, and any ground infrastructure that may have existed has fallen into ruin. The site is not used for any official purpose.

During the Soviet era, Bakhanay Airfield was a critical piece of infrastructure for the remote village of Bakhanay in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia). It served as a vital lifeline, providing the only reliable, year-round connection to the outside world for passenger transport, mail delivery, medical evacuations (known as 'sanaviatsiya'), and the delivery of essential goods. The airfield primarily handled light, rugged Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) aircraft, with the Antonov An-2 biplane being the most common type. These flights connected Bakhanay to the district center, Zhigansk, and other nearby settlements, playing a crucial role in the social and economic life of the community.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Bakhanay Airfield. The village's small population and the prohibitive cost of reconstructing, certifying, and maintaining an airfield to modern standards make any such project economically unfeasible. While the Russian government has ongoing programs to modernize aviation infrastructure in the Arctic and Far East, these initiatives are focused on larger, more strategically important regional airports, not small, abandoned strips like Bakhanay. Transportation for the community is now reliant on seasonal winter roads ('zimniks'), river transport during the summer, and occasional helicopter services for emergencies.