Sonkajärvi, FI 🇫🇮 Closed Airport
FI-0024
-
600 ft
FI-15
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 63.819401° N, 27.7694° E
Continent: EU
Type: Closed Airport
Keywords: EFSJ EFSJ
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The airfield was officially removed from the Finnish Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) circa 2006. It had likely seen infrequent use for several years leading up to its formal decommissioning.
The closure was primarily due to economic reasons and a lack of sufficient flight activity. As a small, privately maintained general aviation field, it likely faced challenges with funding for runway maintenance, insurance, and other operational costs. A decline in local flying club membership and activity made it unsustainable to keep the airfield operational and certified.
The airfield is completely abandoned for aviation use. The former runway is no longer maintained and is heavily overgrown with grass, weeds, and small trees, making it unusable for aircraft. Satellite imagery shows the faint outline of the strip, but it is effectively reverting to nature. The land may be used informally for local vehicle access by landowners, but there are no remaining aviation facilities on the site.
Sonkajärvi-Jyrkkä (which previously used the ICAO code EFSO) was a small, uncontrolled general aviation airfield ('lentopaikka' in Finnish). Its significance was entirely local, serving as a base for recreational flying for private pilots and a local aviation club in the Upper Savonia region. Operations consisted of light single-engine aircraft (e.g., Cessnas, Pipers) and possibly ultralights. It featured a single gravel and grass runway (approximately 650 meters long) and had minimal infrastructure. It was never used for commercial passenger traffic or significant military operations.
There are no known plans, proposals, or prospects for reopening the Sonkajärvi-Jyrkkä Airfield. The significant cost required to clear the land, rebuild the runway, and meet modern certification standards, combined with the lack of demonstrated demand that led to its original closure, makes any future reopening highly improbable.
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