Pärnu Airport (, ) is an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. The airport is situated northwest of

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

Overview

In October 1937, the Pärnu town council designated an area of for the building of an airport. Operations at the new airport began in 1939. During the Soviet occupation, the airfield was operated by the Soviet Air Defence Force. It was an

interceptor aircraft An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically for the defensive interception role against an attacking enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Aircraft that are c ...

base, operated by 366th Fighter Aviation Regiment (IAP-PVO) and possibly the 655th Fightor Aviation Regiment, which flew

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-sweep wing, variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, ...

aircraft from the 1970s until the 1990s.

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (, ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; , , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo Interna ...

used to operate

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

Viljandi Viljandi (, , , , ) is a Populated places in Estonia, town and Municipalities of Estonia, municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,255 in 2024. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major ...

-Kingissepa (now

Kuressaare Kuressaare () is a populated places in Estonia, town on the island of Saaremaa in Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Municipality and the seat of Saare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded popul ...

) services using

Antonov An-2 The Antonov An-2 (USAF/DoD reporting name Type 22, NATO reporting name Colt) is a Soviet Union, Soviet mass-produced single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft designed and manufactured by the Antonov Design Bureau beginning in 1947. I ...

biplanes. In the summer of 1992, the re-constituted Estonian

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

took over the military airport, which had drawn down its operations. On 15 October the same year it was decided to build a civil airport at the site of the old military airport. The old

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

was closed on 1 July 1997, and regular flights started to use the runway that had belonged to the Soviet air defence force. The small airline Air Livonia flew from Pärnu to

Kihnu Kihnu is an island in the Baltic Sea. With an area of , it is the largest island in the Gulf of Riga and the seventh largest island of Estonia. With a length of and width of , the island's highest point is above sea level. Kihnu belongs to P ...

and

Ruhnu Ruhnu (; ; ) is an Estonian island in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. Its territory of is administratively part of Saare County, Saare ''maakond'' (county). Ruhnu lies geographically closer to the coast of Courland on the mainland of Latvia ...

until 2006. In the summer of 2010,

Estonian Air Estonian Air was the flag carrier airline of Estonia between 1991 and 2015. Headquartered in Tallinn it operated scheduled services from Tallinn Airport. Prior to its closure, the airline flew from Tallinn to 11 destinations in Europe. From 19 ...

operated one return flight a week from

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. The airport is often visited by private aircraft from

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

and other European countries. 5,148 people travelled via Pärnu Airport in 2010. The airport was also used for charter flights from Finland and Sweden until 2014, when the deteriorating condition of the runway meant that it was no longer suitable for larger aircraft. In 2016, there were proposals to overhaul and refit the airport, alongside (possibly) a brand-new terminal for handling of larger jets. After a total of 14 months reconstruction the airport re-opened end of September 2021. Currently it hosts direct flights to

. Recently news reported, that NyxAir of Estonia will start flights to

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

in May 2022. In March 2022,

Scandinavian Airlines The Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), commonly known as Scandinavian Airlines, is the national airline of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It is part of SAS Group and is headquartered in Solna, Sweden. Including its subsidiaries SAS Link and ...

announced that it will launch summer seasonal flights between Pärnu and Stockholm Arlanda Airport. The direct route would be operated twice-weekly, starting from the 25th of June 2022.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

List of the busiest airports in the Baltic states This is a list of the busiest airports in the Baltic states in terms of total number of Passengers, Aircraft movements and Freight and Mail Tonnes per year. The statistics includes major airports in the Baltic States with commercial regular traff ...

References

External links

Pärnu Airport
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parnu Airport Airports in Estonia Soviet Air Defence Force bases

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

1939 establishments in Estonia Tori Parish Buildings and structures in Pärnu County International airports in Estonia