Panama City Beach Airstrip

The closure was due to economic reasons driven by rapid urban development and real estate value. The airport occupied prime commercial land in the heart of a booming tourist destination. As Panama City Beach grew, the land became far more valuable for commercial use than for general aviation, leading to its sale and redevelopment.

The site has been completely redeveloped and shows no visible trace of the former airport. It is now the location of 'The Shoppes at Edgewater', a major shopping center that includes a Publix supermarket, restaurants, and various retail stores. The main road through the development, Richard Jackson Boulevard, and the shopping center's layout follow the approximate alignment of the former north-south runway.

Established in the early 1950s, the Panama City Beach Airstrip was a crucial general aviation hub for the beach community for over four decades. Initially a small private field with an unpaved runway, it was later improved with a paved 3,000-foot runway (Runway 18/36). It was famously operated by Sowell Aviation, which provided services like fuel, aircraft maintenance, flight training, and charter flights. The airport was a convenient entry point for private pilots and tourists, contributing significantly to the accessibility and growth of Panama City Beach as a vacation destination before the area's aviation needs were consolidated at larger airports.

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening the airport. The land is fully occupied by dense commercial development, making a return to aviation use impossible. The region's air traffic is now served by the Panama City-Bay County International Airport (ECP), which opened in 2010 to accommodate larger aircraft and a higher volume of passengers.