Departure
95%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Tampere-Pirkkala Airport lies at Pirkkala, some 7 nautical miles south-west of Tampere city centre, and is Finland's principal joint civil-military aerodrome, serving as both a Finavia-operated commercial airport and the home base of the Finnish Air Force's Satakunta Air Command. For the simulator pilot it offers a single long, ILS-equipped runway, full air traffic control services and an interesting mix of scheduled airline and military traffic.
Tampere-Pirkkala Airport, known locally as Tampere-Pirkkalan lentoasema, is a dual-use civil and military aerodrome in Pirkkala, Finland, operated by Finavia. It is the sixth-busiest airport in Finland by passenger numbers and hosts the Satakunta Air Command, giving it a long-standing Finnish Air Force presence alongside its scheduled and charter airline operations. The combination of a single very long paved runway, an ILS approach and continuing military use makes it a worthwhile and slightly unusual VFR or IFR destination for the simulator pilot.
The airport sits in Pirkkala, about 7 nautical miles (13 kilometres) south-west of Tampere city centre. As a joint civil-military field with both approach and tower services, it lies within controlled airspace served by its own approach and aerodrome control positions.
Tampere-Pirkkala has a single physical runway, 06/24, a hard-surfaced strip of about 8807 feet in length. Both directions are lit; an ILS is provided for runway 24, giving an instrument approach capability at the field.
Pirkkala APP provides approach control on 126.2 MHz, with a separate ATIS broadcast on 133.55 MHz. Pirkkala TWR handles tower services on 118.7 MHz. An ILS is available for runway 24, supporting instrument approaches to the field.
Tampere's airport origins trace back to 1936, when the original Härmälä airport was founded some 6 kilometres from the centre of Tampere, connected by Aero O/Y (the forerunner of Finnair) to Helsinki, Vaasa, Oulu and Kemi. A terminal building followed in 1941, and Karhumäki Airways began flights to Stockholm in the 1950s; the Härmälä runway was paved in 1958. Härmälä served around 1.5 million passengers before it closed in 1979, when the present Tampere-Pirkkala Airport opened in its place. The current Terminal 1 building dates from 1996. Ryanair began flying from Tampere-Pirkkala in April 2003, initially to Stockholm-Skavsta, London-Stansted, Frankfurt-Hahn and Riga, helping drive strong passenger growth through the 2000s before the airline withdrew its Stansted route in late 2023 after twenty years of service. AirBaltic established a secondary hub at Tampere in May 2022. Alongside its civil role, the airport has long been a Finnish Air Force station, home to the Satakunta Air Command; F-18 Hornet fighters were based there until the 21st Fighter Squadron was dissolved in mid-2014.
Tampere-Pirkkala remains an active Finavia-operated airport with two terminals, Terminal 1 handling charter and other scheduled services. Current scheduled and charter operators include airBaltic, with routes to Riga and Malaga and seasonal services to Gran Canaria and Kittila, Finnair serving Oulu, and seasonal Aegean Airlines flights to Chania. The airport also continues to support Finnish Air Force operations as home to the Satakunta Air Command, giving it an ongoing military flying role alongside civil traffic.
