Pärnu Airport

Pärnu Airport (Estonian: Pärnu lennujaam, (IATA: EPU, ICAO: EEPU)) is an airport in Estonia. The airport is situated 2.4 nautical miles (4.4 km; 2.8 mi) northwest of Pärnu.[1]

Pärnu Airport

Pärnu lennujaam
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorTallinn Airport Ltd.
ServesPärnu, Estonia
Opened1939
Elevation AMSL40 ft / 12 m
Coordinates58°25′08″N 024°28′22″E
Websitewww.parnu-airport.ee/eng
Map
EEPU is located in Estonia
EEPU
EEPU
Location in Estonia
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
03/21 1,970 6,463 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Passengers2,887
Aircraft movements791
Sources: Estonian AIP[1]

Overview

In October 1937, the Pärnu town council designated an area of 0.28 km2 (0.11 sq mi) 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 Force. It was an interceptor aircraft base, operated by 366th Interceptor Aviation Regiment and possibly the 655th Interceptor Aviation Regiment, which flew Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 aircraft from the 1970s until the 1990s.[2]

Aeroflot used to operate Tartu-Viljandi-Pärnu-Kingissepa (now Kuressaare) services using Antonov An-2 biplanes.

In the summer of 1992, the re-constituted Estonian defence ministry 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 was closed on 1 July 1997, and regular flights started to use the runway that had belonged to the Soviet air force.

The small airline Air Livonia flew from Pärnu to Kuressaare, Kihnu and Ruhnu until 2006. In the summer of 2010, Estonian Air operated one return flight a week from Stockholm.[3]

The airport is often visited by private aircraft from Scandinavia 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.[4] In 2016, there were proposals to overhaul and refit the airport, alongside (possibly) a brand-new terminal for handling of larger jets.[4]

After a total of 14 months reconstruction the airport re-opened end of September 2021.[5] Currently it hosts direct flights to Ruhnu.[6] Recently news reported, that NyxAir of Estonia will start flights to Helsinki in May 2022.[7]

In March 2022, Scandinavian Airlines 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
AirlinesDestinations
NyxAir Seasonal: Helsinki[8]
Diamond Sky Seasonal: Ruhnu[9]

Statistics
Annual passenger traffic at EPU airport. See Wikidata query.

List of the busiest airports in the Baltic states

References
  1. "eAIP Estonia". Estonian Air Navigation Services (ANS). Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  2. "Aviatsiya PVO". Aviabaza KPOI.
  3. Direct route between Pärnu and Stockholm
  4. "Pärnu Airport may get money originally destined for railway construction". 15 October 2016.
  5. "Pärnu lennujaama vastsele lennurajale peab esialgu peale maksma". 29 September 2021.
  6. "Pärnu-Ruhnu lennuühendus taastus". 4 October 2021.
  7. "Pärnu saab esimese lennuühenduse Helsingiga". 11 January 2022.
  8. "Eesti lennufirma NyxAir alustas täna Pärnu–Helsingi liini piletimüüki".
  9. https://eestilennud.ee/


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