Birstonas

54°36'36"N 024°01'02"E

Runway: 11/29 - ...meters/...feet - unknown
Runway: 11/29 - 1750meters/...feet - concrete/asphalt (?)

Birštonas airfield (Lithuanian: Birštono aerodromas) was a small airfield northwest of Birštonas, 80 kilometers west of Vilnius, Lithuania
It is not known when the airfield was built. According to a source I found on line in Lithuania, the airfield may have started as an agricultural airfield. It featured two runways, described as "running parallel to the pine forest" indicating it ran 11/29. The other one was supposed to be where today the highway Prienai-Vilnius is located. This second runway suggests it may at one time have been a highway strip for the Soviet military. Current aerial photography from the area seems to support this, showing a 1750meter long stretch of 4-lane road, while the rest of the highway is only 2 laves wide.
It is not known if the second runway was ever used.

What is known is that the short runway was used for an airline service with An-2 'Colt' biplanes. The service was run from Vilnius via Birštonas to Kapsukas and back. Despite costing only 2 rubles, the service was not a success, passengers numbered 1-2 per flight, and often even none. With pine trees nearby the airfield was challenging.


The sanatorium that replaced the airfield, but which was still uncompleted by the time Lithuania became indepentent 18 years later, photographed in 1990 (Panoramio).

The airfield finally closed in 1972. In its place a sanatorium was built, but never completed. The runway was broken up to be replaced by 3 ponds. If you know what to look for, you can still see traces of the outlines of the former airfield.


The location of the former Birštonas airfield. Clearly visible are the 4 lane highway (a suspected highway strip) and the three ponds that were dug at the location of the regular runway (Google Earth).