Birzai Highway strip

56°07'08"N 024°57'08"E

Runway: 10/28 - 2500meters/0000feet - asphalt

The Barzai Highway strip was an emergency (wartime) airfield 160 kilometers north of Vilnius in Lithuania.
The airfield was built during the Cold War by the Soviet Air Force. The airfield was used in the summer of 1989 during an exercise involving Mi-8 helicopters and one or more MiG-27 'Floggers' from Daugavpils. The event was used to make an instructional video for the Soviet Air Force.


Part one of the Soviet Air Force instructional video on emergency highway airstrips (nva-forum.de via mil-airfields.de).


Part two of the Soviet Air Force instructional video on emergency highway airstrips (nva-forum.de via mil-airfields.de).

After Lithuania became independent in 1990, the airstrip was no longer maintained. It is recognisable from the air however, if you know what to look for. The airstrip has two large aircraft parkings, disguised as highway parking areas, one on each end. A slightly smaller area exists a little more to the east, on the other side of the approach glidepath. The airstrip was returned to its normal state road use since the end of the Soviet occupation.


The emergency airstrip in 2002


If you did not know, you would not recognise the emergency airstrip if you were driving on it in 2011