Pärnu authorities want to find a private operator for airport — ERR News
The new city authorities of Estonia’s Pärnu would prefer the state to find a private operator for the local airport through a public auction rather than transfer management of the airfield to the municipality. Pärnu Airport is part of the state-owned Tallinn Airport structure and, due to its low passenger traffic, requires subsidies of hundreds of thousands of euros each year from the state and local authorities, ERR News reports.
Position of the new coalition
At the beginning of the month, council members passed a vote of no confidence in Pärnu’s previous mayor. Siim Suursild of the Isamaa party became the new mayor, leading a coalition of the Centre Party, Isamaa and EKRE.
According to Suursild, the current coalition believes that the state could hold a public auction to find an airport operator. He stressed that the city does not plan to manage the airfield itself because it is not a professional airport operator.
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Options for the airport
In July, Estonia’s Ministry of Climate presented two options: transfer management of the airport to the Pärnu municipality or hold an open tender to assess private-sector interest. Sander Salmu, the ministry’s deputy secretary general for mobility, said that the ministry had previously discussed the possibility of taking over management with city authorities, but plans a new meeting following the change in administration.
The city authorities are to formulate their final position in September. The mayor noted that air connections are important for Pärnu, rather than the operation of the airport as a separate facility. At the same time, it is currently unclear whether financial support for the airfield will remain if it is transferred to a private operator.
Pärnu Airport was reconstructed five years ago for €18 million, but it did not begin operating at full capacity as had been projected at the time. In July, the peak month for the city, 204 passengers used the airport. Pärnu is considered Estonia’s summer capital.
