Childersburg, US 🇺🇸 Closed Airport
US-0539
-
417 ft
US-AL
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 33.322434° N, -86.35788° E
Continent: NA
Type: Closed Airport
Keywords: 7AL6
I am unable to provide a summary of recent traveler reviews and experiences for Resolute Forest Products Heliport (US-0539) in Childersburg, US, as no traveler reviews or related experiential information for this specific heliport were found in the search results. The search results primarily contained information about Resolute Forest Products' forest certification and sustainability practices from 2013, as well as general parking and transportation information for other, unrelated airports and heliports.
Heliports like US-0539 are typically not public travel hubs in the same way airports are, and therefore, publicly available traveler reviews detailing aspects like terminal facilities, security wait times, or transportation connections are highly uncommon.
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Approximately 2016. The heliport was registered to Resolute Forest Products. The company sold the Childersburg paper mill to New-Indy Containerboard in February 2016. The closure and de-listing of the heliport almost certainly coincided with this change of ownership, as it was no longer owned or operated by the named entity.
Corporate Restructuring and Sale of Assets. The primary reason for the closure was the sale of the paper mill where the heliport was located. The new owner, New-Indy Containerboard, likely did not have the same corporate transportation needs or did not wish to maintain and certify an on-site heliport. The closure was an economic and logistical decision tied to the transfer of property ownership.
The heliport is permanently closed and not operational. Satellite imagery shows the physical concrete helipad, marked with a faded circle and 'H', still exists on the ground south of the main administrative building. However, it is no longer a certified aviation facility. The site itself is an active industrial plant, operating as the New-Indy Containerboard paper mill.
The heliport was a private-use facility with functional, rather than broad historical, significance. It served the large paper mill complex, a major employer and industrial site in central Alabama for decades (originally as the Coosa River Newsprint Company). The heliport's operations were exclusively for the benefit of the mill's owner. Its primary functions included:
1. **Executive Transport:** Efficiently transporting corporate executives and key personnel to and from the facility, bypassing ground travel from regional airports like Birmingham-Shuttlesworth (BHM).
2. **Emergency Services:** Serving as a designated landing zone for emergency medical evacuation (medevac) helicopters in the event of a serious industrial accident.
3. **Utility and Survey:** Potentially used for aerial inspections of the large industrial plant, pipelines, or the vast timberlands that supplied the mill.
There are no known public plans or prospects for reopening the heliport. Any decision to reactivate the facility would be solely at the discretion of the current owner, New-Indy Containerboard. Given that the company has operated the mill for many years without it, and the significant cost and liability associated with maintaining a certified heliport, the prospects for reopening are considered extremely low to non-existent.