Helsinki to evict planes from Malmi Airport

Replacement airfield offered, but over 100 kilometres from Helsinki

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Helsinki’s plans for the conversion of Malmi Airport for housing purposes made progress on Wednesday.
      The City of Helsinki’s real estate committee reached a unanimous decision that the agreement between Helsinki and the state of Finland on the use of the airport is to be terminated. Consequently, aviation activities at the Malmi Airport would cease at the end of 2010.
      In accordance with the agreement with state officials, the City of Helsinki will have to draw up zoning plans for a new residential area in Malmi.
      Before that, the city will have to find another airport to replace the Malmi airfield, which was once Helsinki's main domestic and international airport, but is now being used only by light aircraft and helicopters.
      According to the City of Helsinki, the municipality of Kiikala has offered an existing airfield to replace the Malmi runways and buildings.
      This is unlikely to appeal to current users of the airport, which is regarded as the sole "general aviation" airfield in the capital region. The Kiikala site is close to Salo, around 100 kilometres west of the capital.
     
Helsinki’s decision is based on the assertion that there is no longer any "civil aviation traffic" at the Malmi Airport, while flying enthusiasts beg to disagree.
      They say that the city is interpreting the definition of civil aviation incorrectly. According to their way of thinking, civil aviation means any aircraft traffic, and not just commercial scheduled flights.
     
Politically, the situation is clear-cut. The Malmi Airport area will be converted for housing purposes, and the final decision is likely to be made by the City Board before Christmas.
      All the largest political parties support the plan, and it was in fact approved already by the majority of the City Council members in connection with the decision on the city plan last year.
      At present, the Centre Party and the Swedish People’s Party are opposing the plan, but because they have no representatives in the city’s real estate committee, the decision was made unanimously on Wednesday.
     
One obvious consideration for the city, and one which is likely to outweigh the protests of flying enthusiasts, is that the airfield site as a whole represents a tempting plot of land relatively close to the city centre.
      Helsinki has a chronic shortage of real estate plots for residential development, and land and property prices are astronomical. This in turn has driven families with children to leave Helsinki for surrounding communities both in the Greater Helsinki area and beyond, with a knock-on effect of lost municipal tax income.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Helsinki Malmi Airport included in World Monuments Watch preservation list (25.9.2003)
  Nearly 70 new residential areas needed in Helsinki region (27.4.2001)
  Migration from Helsinki metropolitan area to surrounding communities on the increase (8.10.2003)

Helsingin Sanomat