Redstone Aero proposes €600,000 purchase for airport in Enontekiö, Lapland

The owner of Pyhtää Airport, also known as Helsinki-East Aerodrome, has made a purchase offer for an airport located in Enontekiö, Lapland. Redstone Aero proposed €600,000 to acquire the two airport companies owned by the municipality of Enontekiö. However, the municipal board decided to reject the offer on Tuesday, stating that the proposal came as a surprise to the decision-makers and was unsolicited. “If at any point the municipality considers selling the airport, all potential buyers will be contacted,” said Marja-Riitta Aalto, the municipal executive director. Additionally, the airport has received a grant decision, the conditions of which currently prevent the sale of the company responsible for the airport infrastructure.

Despite the setback, Esa Korjula, CEO of Redstone Aero, remains optimistic about the sale. “We will look into how the municipal board reached this decision,” he stated, suggesting that a solvable reason may exist. Redstone Aero is particularly interested in catering to international tourists, with passenger traffic at Enontekiö Airport focused primarily on the winter season and most charter flights coming from the UK. “Traffic at the airport has grown annually by approximately 10% in terms of flights and passenger numbers,” Aalto noted.

Enontekiö Airport was transferred to municipal management from Finavia in 2021, but has yet to achieve profitability, although performance has improved each year, according to the municipality. Korjula believes a professional airport company could operate it more efficiently.

Enontekiö is not the only airport Redstone Aero is interested in; the company aims to develop a network of small airports for air taxi services in Finland. Currently, Redstone Aero solely operates Pyhtää Airport, which opened in 2019, making it Finland’s newest airport.