Ashland Airport

The closure was most likely due to economic reasons, a common fate for small, rural municipal airports. Factors probably included low air traffic, high costs for maintenance and insurance, and the inability to secure funding for upgrades. The proximity of the larger and better-equipped Northern Maine Regional Airport at Presque Isle (KPQI), located about 20 miles to the east, would have drawn away most potential traffic, making the small Ashland field economically unsustainable for the town to operate.

The airport is permanently closed and the site has been completely redeveloped for industrial use. The former airport property is now a large woodyard and biomass storage facility, serving the local timber and energy industries. Satellite imagery clearly shows the faint outline of the former runway, but the area is now covered with large piles of logs, wood chips, and heavy machinery, making it completely unusable for aviation.

Ashland Airport was a small general aviation airfield that served the town of Ashland and surrounding areas in Aroostook County. It featured a single turf/gravel runway, approximately 3,000 feet long. Its primary function was to support private pilots for recreational and business flying. Given its location in a heavily forested and agricultural region, it was likely used for bush flying to support logging operations, aerial surveys, and possibly agricultural spraying. It began as a public municipal airport before being converted to a private-use field in its final years of operation. It did not handle scheduled commercial passenger services or have any significant military role.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the Ashland Airport. The land has been fully repurposed for heavy industrial use, and the cost to clear the site and restore it for aviation would be prohibitive. The region's aviation needs are adequately met by other airports, making a new airport at this location unnecessary.