Sudzha Airfield

Primarily economic reasons following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The centralized state funding for local air services (MVL - Local Air Lines) was discontinued, and the subsequent economic crisis led to a sharp decline in demand for regional air transport and agricultural aviation, making small airfields like Sudzha financially unsustainable.

The airfield is completely abandoned and defunct. Analysis of satellite imagery at the coordinates 51.212486, 35.347897 reveals no remaining infrastructure such as buildings, hangars, or a terminal. The former unpaved (grass/dirt) runway is heavily overgrown and only faintly visible as a linear feature in the landscape. The land has reverted to agricultural use or is lying fallow.

Sudzha Airfield was a typical small, local civilian airfield of the Soviet era. Its primary function was to connect the town of Sudzha and the surrounding Sudzhansky District with the regional capital, Kursk, and other nearby settlements. Operations were conducted by the state airline Aeroflot and mainly involved:
1. **Passenger and Mail Transport:** Using versatile Antonov An-2 biplanes for short-haul flights.
2. **Agricultural Aviation:** Serving as a base for 'aviatsionno-khimicheskiye raboty' (АХР), which involved crop dusting, fertilizing, and pest control for the local collective farms (kolkhozes).
3. **Sanitary and Emergency Flights:** Potentially used for medical evacuations and other urgent transport needs.
It was an integral part of the local infrastructure, providing essential connectivity in a time before widespread, reliable road transport.

There are no known or publicly discussed plans to reopen Sudzha Airfield. The complete lack of remaining infrastructure, combined with the absence of economic demand for such a small local airfield, makes its revival highly improbable. Regional aviation services in Kursk Oblast are concentrated at the main Kursk Vostochny Airport (IATA: URS, ICAO: UUOK).