Economic minister calls for Pärnu Airport privatization

Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry Erkki Keldo (Reform) has suggested privatizing Pärnu Airport, citing rising operational costs as the reason.
Located to the northwest of the town, Pärnu Airport is state-owned and operated under the Tallinn Airport umbrella; of all of Estonia's commercial airports, it had the lowest throughput of passengers in 2024, at a little over a thousand.
However, Infrastructure Minister Vladimir Svet (SDE) has previously said that privatization, first suggested by local governments in the city and its surrounding area, is not a reasonable solution.
Plans to attract more international flights, funded by business, have come to virtually nothing in recent years – in summer 2024, not a single international flight used Pärnu Airport.
The beach and spa town is popular with tourists from Finland, but its proximity to that country means as often as not they can arrive in chartered buses.
Minister Keldo has in any case joined those voicing support for privatization, and said he has met with entrepreneurs interested in purchasing the airport.

Keldo said: "We know that despite extensive investments by the state and local governments, Pärnu Airport has unfortunately not started functioning properly."
"Due to limited passenger and cargo volumes, covering operational costs is a major challenge.
Added to that, a complicated regulatory environment and inefficient management have made it hard to respond quickly and flexibly to market demands," he went on.
Keldo said he views privatization as a way to address these challenges, believing it could help develop the airport into a competitive and modern transportation hub.
He argued that privatization could increase the number of direct flights, improve connections to key European destinations, and support regional development.
"Modernizing Pärnu Airport would boost tourism, the creation of new industries and businesses, improve transport connections, and provide more job and educational opportunities in the region.

Plus it would increase Pärnu's profile, and attract more visitors to cultural and sports events there," Keldo remarked.
However, Infrastructure Minister Vladimir Svet (SDE) said the €20 million that the state has already invested in the airport is a commitment that should not be so easily dismissed.
Back in December, Svet said: "The City of Pärnu, the municipalities of Pärnu and Pärnu's businesses have asked the state to invest money in the airport and not in rail connections, so that Pärnu and its businesses can develop air traffic and local tourism.
The state's share of the commitment was an investment of up to €20 million.
I don't think it's responsible to propose that the state simply write off the €20 million invested, so to speak."
According to Svet, it is clear that no international flights will come to Pärnu Airport without any additional funding, yet instead of privatization, efforts should focus on finding ways to make the initial investment in the airport pay off, he argued.
In 2024, Estonia's airports (excluding Tallinn) collectively handled 87,636 passengers. Kuressaare (Saaremaa) led the way, contributing nearly half of the total with 42,490 passengers. Tartu followed with 27,270, while Kärdla (Hiiumaa) recorded 15,307, Ruhnu 1,472, and Pärnu at just 1,097.
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Editor: Urmet Kook, Madis Hindre, Andrew Whyte