The municipality of Enontekiö was surprised by an eager airport buyer, but is no longer surprised in the light of new information
The plans to sell Enontekiö Airport go further than previously reported. A persistent buyer emerged last year, but it was not the first time it had moved.
New information has been revealed about the sale of Enontekiö airport. A plan for the sale of the airport dates back three years, which proposes to sell the airport to Redstone Aero for the equivalent of its balance sheet value. This is according to a document obtained by Yle.
It comes as a complete surprise to the current chair of the Enontekiö Municipal Board, Leena Palojärve. She was a deputy councillor in the municipality at the time.
– The airport operates under the Companies Act and we have often complained in the municipality about the information provided by the airport operator. So far, we have not received any information from the company other than the financial statements for the municipal budget,” says Palojärvi.
The information about the early sales plans brings the discussion about the sale of the airport into a completely new light, Palojärvi thinks now.
In the plan made in 2021, the sales amount for the pitch is the same as the amount the municipality redeemed the pitch from Finavia in 2020 after the negotiations ended in November, EUR 600,000.
Another option in the document was to divide ownership of the field between the municipality and Red Stone, so that the company would have had control. Later, the company could have redeemed the entire airport’s stock. For this year, the plan already included the distribution of profits among the shareholders.
The field is important for security of supply and tourism
The plan details the steps to develop the airport until 2025.
Halla later became the mayor of Enontekiö for a few months.
Seppo Alatörmänen still considers the purchase to be the right decision. According to him, the development of tourism and the pressure on security of supply brought by Finland’s NATO membership only increase the importance of the field.
– It is important that we have our own airport as an attraction. Without it, we would be in trouble, says Alatörmänen.
According to Alatörmänen, after the municipality bought the field, the doors there opened like a saloon and there were \”most people interested\”.
Rantapelkonen remembers Redstone Aero’s interest in the airport three years ago. He did not consider the plan to be taken seriously.
– However, I didn’t warm to the idea, and I didn’t take the matter forward in the municipality, so it stayed there, says Rantapelkonen.
Redstone Aero is still interested
Last August, Redstone Aero made a new attempt and offered 600,000 euros for Enontekiö airport again. The municipal government rejected the offer.
Marko Halla confirms that Enontekiö Airport has discussed cooperation with many operators in the aviation industry.
– We have been discussing possible cooperation with Redstone Aero since 2021. Similar discussions have also been held with other operators in the aviation industry, for example with Joenservice, Scandiavia and Vestergaard.
Since then, the company has been following what is happening on the ground.
– It was not possible for Finavia to allocate the critical and extensive renovation to Enontekiö, and the only alternative was to sell the airport, says Jolkkonen.
When Enontekiö municipality had bought the field from Finavia, it established two subsidiaries in early 2021 to take care of the initial phase of operations. One company owns the field and the other operates it.
Korjula says that he is still interested in the purchase of the field or at least close cooperation in the development of Enontekiö airport.
– The purchase offer last fall was an opening for discussion, says Korjula.