Helsinki-Malmi Airport will operate legally and normally in 2020. The permit to operate the airport is valid and the airport operator Malmi Airport Association (www.efhf.fi) will continue to operate the airport.
City of Helsinki has confirmed two things: the city has not decided to shut down aviation operations, and the precondition for operations is a land lease agreement, which is also the permission of the landowner.
The lease has been entered into for an indefinite period of time. FoMA first appealed the decision made by a city official to terminate the runway’s lease agreement to the City’s appropriate Board on 10 December 2018, and then the Board’s decision to the Administrative Court on 25 September 2019, so the matter has been contested.
However, the city interpreted the matter as undisputed and informed Traficom, which announced that it was revoking the permit to operate the airport.
On 23 December 2019, Malmi Airfield Association brought an action against the termination of the land lease agreement in Helsinki District Court. In a discussion with Traficom, the truth of the matter was clarified, and Traficom stated in accordance with the law that there are currently no grounds for revoking the permit.
The airport has an airport operation permit issued by a state authority and a land lease agreement with the City of Helsinki. They are valid at least until the court decisions in the matter become final. A summary of the matter can also be found at Lentoposti (in Finnish), http://lentoposti.fi/uutiset/ilmailijat_haluavat_jatkaa_yhteisty_t_helsingin_kanssa_paluuta_neuvottelup_yt_n_toivetaan
The state’s decision to give up the airport was conditional
A proposal to protect the area is still pending at the Ministry of the Environment. The big thing that is sometimes forgotten is that the state’s decision to give up Malmi Airport was conditional: the Katainen government’s budgetary framework negotiations’ decision in 2014 required civil aviation to be moved to a compensatory airfield, and this was confirmed by the new parliament in December 2019. The matter will be presented as a written question to the government in early 2020.