History
The airport opened in 1918. [1] Between 1939 and 1944, during World War II, the airport operated as a military air base. [1]
In 1951, passenger traffic began at the airport. [1] In 1960, the existing terminal was completed. [1] In 1998, the runway was extended to 2,500 metres. [1] In September 2006, the railway between Lahti and Kerava opened, shortening the travel time by rail to Helsinki and caused the closure of the Lappeenranta-Helsinki air route.
In March 2010, Ryanair started flights to Lappeenranta, its second destination in Finland after Tampere Airport. The passenger record was in 2010 with 115,000 passengers, partially attributed to the patronage of a large number of Russian tourists from the large neighbouring city of Saint Petersburg. [2] The airport was in 2014 on 73nd position in the list of the busiest airports in the Nordic countries. This boom would not last long, with the flow of Russian tourists falling sharply in 2014 in the wake of the Euromaidan in Ukraine. [2]
The only airline flying to Lappeenranta, Ryanair, ceased all flights there on 21 October 2015. [3] [4]
In 2016, ownership of the airport changed from the state-owned Finavia to a company owned by the City of Lappeenranta, Lappeenrannan Lentoasema Oy. [5] The airport had no scheduled flights 2016–2017, but Ryanair restarted again in March 2018. [6]
Due to mounting financial losses, and the lack of flight demand, the City of Lappeenranta is debating whether to continue operating the airport. [7] Attempts to secure funding were halted due to EU regulations after consultation with the European Commission and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. [8] Since its purchase of the airport, the city has spent over twelve million euro in keeping the airport open.
The airport's financial problems reflect a larger economic downturn in the eastern border regions of Finland, following the COVID-19 pandemic and the breakdown of Finland-Russia relations. [9] [10] [11] In addition, aviation has encountered disruption as a result of Russian GNSS jamming along the Finnish border due to the threat of UAV attacks, with Finland reinstating legacy radio navigation systems. [12] In 2025, Yle reported that the airports yearly revenue had been lower than expected due to a decrease in general aviation and training flights, necessitating the need to contract airport workers for other town services. [13]
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