Braithwaite Park Airport

The airport was catastrophically damaged by the storm surge from Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Post-hurricane aerial imagery shows the entire airfield covered in mud, debris, and water. The facility never recovered from the devastation. The area was subsequently flooded again by Hurricane Isaac in 2012, further cementing its closure.

The airport is permanently closed and abandoned. As of the latest satellite imagery, the outline of the 3,000-foot runway is still clearly visible but is completely overgrown with grass, shrubs, and small trees. The site has not been redeveloped and is slowly being reclaimed by nature. The adjacent buildings, which may have included hangars or administrative offices, appear to be in a state of disrepair or are used for non-aviation purposes. The land is not in active use.

Originally known as Scarsdale Plantation Airport, it was established as a private airfield sometime between 1963 and 1972. By the late 1970s, it was owned by a land development company and featured a 3,000-foot turf runway. In the early 1980s, it was renamed Braithwaite Park Airport, with the FAA identifier 5LA8. It primarily served general aviation, catering to light, single-engine aircraft like Cessnas and Pipers for private and recreational use by local pilots and landowners. It was never a major commercial or military facility, but served as a local aviation asset for several decades before its destruction.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the airport. The high cost of restoration, combined with the site's extreme vulnerability to storm surge and flooding from future hurricanes, makes any investment in reviving it as an airfield economically and practically unfeasible. The land remains privately owned and derelict.