Pyhäselkä Airfield

Economic and land-use reasons. The airfield was situated on privately owned land that was leased to the local aviation club. The landowner decided not to renew the lease, opting to repurpose the land for forestry. The closure was a result of this private land-use decision and was not related to any accident, regulatory action, or military conversion.

The site is no longer an active or recognizable airfield. The land has been returned to its primary use of forestry. The former runway and taxiway areas have been planted with trees and are now part of a managed forest. Satellite imagery of the coordinates confirms that the runway outline is heavily overgrown and disappearing into the surrounding landscape. There are no remaining aviation-related buildings or infrastructure on the site.

Pyhäselkä Airfield was a small, unpaved general aviation airfield primarily used for recreational flying. Its main function was to serve as a home base for the local aviation club, Pyhäselän Ilmailukerho ry (Pyhäselkä Aviation Club). Operations consisted almost exclusively of ultralight (UL) aircraft and some light sport aircraft. Its significance was purely local, providing a dedicated and affordable facility for aviation enthusiasts and hobbyist pilots in the Joensuu region, separate from the larger, controlled environment of the main Joensuu Airport (EFJO). It did not handle any commercial, cargo, or scheduled military traffic.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Pyhäselkä Airfield. The land is privately owned and has been fully repurposed. The local general aviation community now operates out of the main Joensuu Airport (EFJO). Re-establishing an airfield at this location would require securing a new long-term lease from the landowner, significant deforestation and land-clearing, and complete reconstruction of the runway and any facilities, making it financially and logistically unfeasible.