Lasnamäe Airfield

The airfield's closure was a direct consequence of major geopolitical changes. The primary reasons were the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the subsequent restoration of Estonian independence. As a Soviet military base, its strategic purpose became obsolete. The occupying Soviet (later Russian) military forces began their withdrawal from Estonia, leading to the decommissioning of the base. Following the military's departure, the valuable land was repurposed for large-scale urban development to expand the Lasnamäe residential district of Tallinn.

The site of the former Lasnamäe Airfield has been completely redeveloped and is now unrecognizable as an aviation facility. The land has been fully integrated into the Lasnamäe district, Tallinn's most populous residential area. The former runways, taxiways, and military buildings have been replaced by a dense urban landscape consisting of:
- High-rise apartment blocks (both Soviet-era and modern).
- Major commercial and retail centers, such as Lasnamäe Centrum, Tähesaju City, and various big-box stores (e.g., Bauhaus, Rimi).
- Key transportation infrastructure, most notably the Laagna tee, a major arterial expressway that runs through the heart of the former airfield's territory.
Essentially, the entire area is now a bustling residential and commercial hub with no visible remnants of its military past.

Lasnamäe Airfield was a significant Soviet Air Defence Forces (PVO) base during the Cold War. Constructed in the post-WWII era, it became a key military installation responsible for the air defense of Tallinn, the northern coast of the Estonian SSR, and the strategic Gulf of Finland. It primarily housed fighter-interceptor regiments tasked with protecting the northwestern airspace of the USSR from potential NATO incursions. Over its decades of operation, the airfield was home to several notable Soviet fighter aircraft, including the MiG-17, MiG-19, Sukhoi Su-9 ('Fishpot'), and, in its later years, the advanced MiG-23MLD ('Flogger-K'). The base was a prominent symbol of the Soviet military occupation in Estonia.

There are zero prospects for reopening Lasnamäe Airfield. The land has been completely and irreversibly converted to dense urban use. Re-establishing an airport at this location is physically, economically, and politically impossible. The city of Tallinn is well-served by its single international airport, Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport (IATA: TLL, ICAO: EETN), which handles all of the region's commercial, general, and military aviation needs.