Defense ministry backs maintaining Pärnu Airport operations
The Ministry of Defense supports the City of Pärnu's proposals to preserve Pärnu airfield and ensure the continuation of its operations, Deputy Secretary General for Defense Capabilities Kadri Peeters wrote in a response to the Pärnu city government.
The regional Pärnu Airport in Estonia served approximately 1,000 passengers in 2025 and it's future has been in doubt for a long time.
"The existence and preservation of regional aviation infrastructure is in line with the fundamentals of Estonia's security policy, increasing the country's flexibility, dispersion, and freedom of action. Pärnu airfield may have an additional supporting role that is not limited to the volume of civilian aviation or the existence of scheduled flights," Peeters stated in her response.
She noted that the Ministry of Defense is presenting its positions and proposals for further action.
"The deployment of an allied command element is being considered near Pärnu, which makes a regional airfield a useful additional option for potentially supporting that planned unit and receiving allied forces. At the same time, Pärnu airfield's sparse civilian air traffic, along with its location near sparsely populated areas and the sea, create favorable preconditions for operating and training with allied unmanned aerial vehicles," Peeters wrote.
According to her, the infrastructure enhances the country's readiness for the movement of equipment, medical evacuation, and crisis response in situations where land connections are time-critical or disrupted.
"Accordingly, when shaping a potential future use or management model, the state and local government must be ensured permanent, unrestricted access for rescue, medical, crisis management, border guard, and national defense purposes. The Ministry of Defense sees a long-term supporting need for the airfield but notes that both currently and in the medium term there are no resources for investing in airport infrastructure or covering operating costs, nor personnel from the Defense Forces for the day-to-day management of the airfield or permanent staffing of positions," the letter says.
She emphasized that ensuring the functioning of the airfield is, from the perspective of comprehensive national defense, a task for the state as a whole, and the Ministry of Defense is ready to participate in developing an inter-ministerial usage model.
"Before making irreversible or infrastructure-damaging decisions, all alternative management solutions must be thoroughly assessed. The involvement of a private operator should also be considered under conditions that would ensure the airfield's preservation and functionality, for example through a public administration contract or a state procurement arrangement," Peeters said.
Peeters added that the ministry asks relevant stakeholders to take these national defense considerations into account when making decisions about the airfield's future and shaping its long-term vision.
In April, Tallinn Airport CEO Riivo Tuvike said that the network of regional airports requires urgent reorganization, and that a decision should first and foremost be made regarding Pärnu Airport. At the time, Sander Salmu, Deputy Secretary General for Mobility at the Ministry of Climate, said that options on the table include closure, leasing, or finding a use for it in cooperation with local authorities.
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Editor: Aleksander Krjukov, Argo Ideon
