Former Malmi Airport area turns into recreation centre

The area of the former Malmi Airport has become a recreation centre and already opened for the people, said the City of Helsinki in a press release on Tuesday.

The fenced area of the airport can be accessed on foot through five gates. The area features a Nordic skating track, among other things.

Driving motor vehicles in the area is not, however, allowed.

The former Malmi Airport has changed into an open area for all residents of Helsinki. People can stroll, run, bike, skate and ski as well as fly kites and play ball in the area.

The access gates to the area and the recreational and temporary use functions of the airport are illustrated on the new Malmi Airport guide map for winter recreation.

Residents of Helsinki have been consistently requesting a Nordic skating track, but the thickness of the ice and the weather conditions at sea are unpredictable. The new recreational area on Malmi Airport proved a safer and more reliable location for a Nordic skating track.

The Nordic skating track, reproducing the shape of the runway in places, resembles a cyclic quadrilateral. The track is about 1.2 kilometres long and has a width of up to more than 10 metres.

The construction of the area of the former Malmi Airport will be starting in early 2022. Preparations for the pre-construction of the airport area are currently under way, including three entities: pre-construction of the main natural gas pipeline, new access route to the northern section of the airport area and various pre-construction tests. The current understanding is that the work will start in late winter.

Temporary premises for the use of Helsinki Vocational College and Adult Institute (Stadin AO) will also be located in the area for the duration of the construction of the new campus in Roihupelto.

The outdoor training area for large vehicles and vehicle maintenance training depots will be taken into use by the logistics education department in March 2022. A fence marks the border between the outdoor training area and the recreational area, and people may not enter the training area.

The terminal and hangar buildings of the former Malmi Airport are protected in the final city plan. Their building maintenance technology will be repaired to secure the continued use of the buildings.

The planning of the renovation of the terminal has been scheduled for 2022 and the technical repairs have been scheduled for 2023 in the budget. As far as the hangar is concerned, the planning has been scheduled for 2023 and the repairs have been scheduled for 2024.