Defense Ministry Supports Maintaining Pärnu Airport Operations
Estonia's Ministry of Defense backs the preservation of Pärnu Airport, citing national security and defense needs, though currently there are no resources for investment or operational costs.
The Estonian Ministry of Defense has expressed support for the City of Pärnu's proposals to preserve Pärnu airfield and ensure the continuation of its operations. This is stated in a response from Deputy Secretary General for Defense Capabilities Kadri Peeters to the Pärnu city government.
The regional Pärnu Airport served approximately 1,000 passengers in 2025, and its future has been uncertain for a long time. Peeters noted that the existence and preservation of regional aviation infrastructure aligns with the fundamentals of Estonia's security policy, increasing the country's flexibility, dispersion, and freedom of action. The 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 indicated 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.
The infrastructure enhances the country's readiness for equipment movement, 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. Peeters 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, including the involvement of a private operator, for example through a public administration contract or a state procurement arrangement. Peeters added that the ministry asks relevant stakeholders to take these national defense considerations into account when making decisions about the airfield's future.
In April, Tallinn Airport CEO Riivo Tuvike stated 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.
