San Carlos Airport

The primary reason for closure was its replacement by a superior facility. The old airport was smaller and less capable than the new San Carlos Apache Airport, which was built to modern standards with a longer runway (6,000 ft vs. the old airport's ~3,600 ft) and better infrastructure to serve the community's aviation needs more effectively and safely.

The site is abandoned. Satellite imagery clearly shows the remnants of the single paved runway. The pavement is severely weathered, cracked, and has significant vegetation growing through it. There are no remaining hangars, terminals, or other airport infrastructure on the site. The land is unused and is slowly being reclaimed by the natural desert environment.

The old San Carlos Airport was the original airfield serving the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation and the nearby town of San Carlos, Arizona. For decades, it functioned as a crucial general aviation hub in a remote area. Its operations primarily supported private aircraft, flights for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Tribal government, air taxi services, and essential emergency functions such as medical evacuations and as a staging area for aerial firefighting support in the surrounding national forests. It was the reservation's main air link to the outside world before it was replaced.

There are zero known plans or prospects for reopening the old San Carlos Airport. Its role has been entirely and permanently superseded by the modern San Carlos Apache Airport (P13/E34), which fully serves the region's aviation requirements. Reopening the old, deteriorated field would be redundant and economically unjustifiable.