Pine Springs Airport

There is no official documented reason for the closure. However, the most likely cause is economic non-viability and abandonment. Small, unpaved airstrips in remote locations like Pine Springs often close due to a lack of funding for maintenance, declining use as road infrastructure improves, and the consolidation of air services at larger, better-equipped regional airports like Gallup Municipal Airport (KGUP). There is no evidence of a specific event like an accident or military conversion leading to its closure.

The airport is completely abandoned and unusable. Current satellite imagery shows the faint, ghostly outline of a single northwest/southeast runway. The entire site is heavily overgrown with desert scrub and grasses, and a dirt track now crosses the former runway. There are no remaining buildings, hangars, or any aviation infrastructure on the site. The land has reverted to natural rangeland.

Pine Springs Airport was a small, local general aviation airstrip serving the remote community of Pine Springs, located on the Navajo Nation. Its primary significance was as a lifeline, providing air access for services that were difficult or slow to deliver by road. Operations would have been limited to small, single-engine aircraft (like Cessna or Piper models) capable of using a short, unpaved runway. Its likely uses included medical evacuation (medevac) flights, transportation for personnel from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) or Indian Health Service (IHS), and private flights for local residents or ranchers. It was never a commercial or military facility and held only local importance.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Pine Springs Airport. The likelihood of it ever being reactivated is extremely low to non-existent. The cost of clearing, grading, and maintaining the runway would be significant, and there is no apparent demand to justify the expense. The needs of the community are now served by ground transportation and the nearby, full-service Gallup Municipal Airport, located approximately 35 miles to the east.