The Environment and Permits Sub-Committee of the City of Helsinki Urban Environment Committee has approved the city’s provisional building permit application for a temporary change of purpose of the so-called Patria building and its surroundings at Malmi Airport. The city has planned a truck driver students’ training track for heavy equipment in the airport area for a period of five years.
According to the plan, a significant part of the airport’s meadows would be paved over or converted into a sand-based training area. The work would extend to the original concrete runway subject to the prohibition of endangerment that in effect at the whole airport.
The building permit application demonstrates that the city has no real need for the area for at least five years. The most exotic temporary uses for the area are being sought. The proposal verifies that the demand made by the aviation operators to resume aviation operations immediately can be met.
The Finnish Parliament has demanded from the Government measures for substitutive solutions to accommodate Malmi’s aviation operations. The Government has not implemented these. Malmi Airport must therefore be returned to aviation use in order to ensure the continuity of Finnish general aviation.