Skibno, PL 🇵🇱 Closed Airport
PL-0059
-
89 ft
PL-ZP
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 54.246478° N, 16.307912° E
Continent: EU
Type: Closed Airport
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The airfield was officially decommissioned as a military asset in the post-Cold War era, likely in the late 1990s or early 2000s. It was subsequently removed from the Polish Civil Aviation Authority's (ULC) registry of landing sites, where it was listed as PL-0059.
The primary reason for closure was military decommissioning. The site was a 'Drogowy Odcinek Lotniskowy' (DOL), which translates to 'Airstrip Road Section'. These emergency runways became strategically obsolete following the end of the Cold War and the change in Poland's military doctrine upon joining NATO. Furthermore, the construction of the new S6 expressway, which rerouted traffic away from this section of the old national road 6, physically and logistically finalized its closure as a potential runway.
The site is no longer used for any aviation activities. The original concrete runway surface still exists and now functions as a minor local road, running parallel to the new S6 expressway. Due to its long, straight, and wide nature, it is frequently used by local driving schools for vehicle training, particularly for practicing skid control and emergency maneuvers. The surface is in a state of degradation, with visible cracks and vegetation growth, and is not maintained to any aviation standard. It is also used for local agricultural access.
Skibno Airfield was not a traditional airport but a purpose-built military emergency airstrip known as DOL 'Klin'. It was a specially widened and reinforced 2,200-meter section of the former national road 6. Its strategic purpose during the Warsaw Pact era was to serve as a dispersal runway for the Polish Air Force, primarily for fighter jets like MiG-21s and Su-22s from nearby bases (e.g., Zegrze Pomorskie). This allowed aircraft to be dispersed away from their main air bases, making them less vulnerable to a preemptive strike in the event of a conflict with NATO. The site was used for military exercises to practice landings and takeoffs from unprepared surfaces but never handled any scheduled civilian or commercial air traffic. The ICAO designator PL-0059 was a civil registration likely assigned for administrative tracking after its primary military function had ceased.
There are no known or credible plans to reopen the Skibno site as an airfield. Its original military purpose is obsolete, and its infrastructure would require a complete and costly reconstruction to meet modern civil aviation safety standards. The development of the nearby Koszalin-Zegrze Pomorskie Airport (EPZP) for regional passenger and general aviation traffic fully serves the region's needs, making the reactivation of Skibno both unnecessary and economically unviable.
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