Totally destroyed buildings that look like after the war. There are no doors in the buildings, the windows are glazed. The other buildings show that they are old. In the military complex in Líny near Pilsen, it is obvious at first glance that investments will be needed here.
The army has announced that it wants to build a logistics center for Czech and NATO soldiers at this reserve airport after the takeover, and also build a base for active reserves of the regional military command for 600 people.
But for now, the latest equipment seems to be the cameras at the gate. The territory of the airport is fenced and there is a sign on the rusted fence warning that it is a guarded area to which entry is prohibited.
Take a look at how it looks at Líně Airport near Pilsen:
Photo: Jaroslav Gavenda, Seznam Zpravy
Even last year, it seemed that a factory for batteries for electric cars could be built in the place. But the plan failed. And the new plans count on defense use.
The return of the army divides the locals
“I’m not happy that the army will be there, especially nowadays. It’s a strange feeling for me that the army is coming back here. I used to feel it as a sense of security, today I feel it more like guns are about something else. And during a conflict, it is the main target of an attack,” says pensioner Irena at the TGM square in the nearby town of Dobřany.
The changing plans for the Lína airport also bother the 77-year-old senior who is heading to the bakery. When a reporter questions him on the subject, he starts cursing. “Leave it alone, it keeps changing. I worked at the airport in Líní for 14 years. I can’t listen to it anymore. Let the army be here peacefully, but above all let it not fly here and let there not be a riot,” he describes emotionally.
On the contrary, pensioner Milena is really looking forward to the return of the army. “Yes, let the army be here again. She was always here, let people be happy that she will be here and protect us,” he adds his opinion.
The mayor of Dobřan, Martin Sobotka (Aktivní Dobřany), described in an interview for Seznam Zprávy that Líně airport, which is dominated by a 2.5-kilometer long runway, is in a rather terrible state.
“There are buildings there that are generally demolished, destroyed. The area of the ambulance and what the aero clubs have repaired are in decent condition,” says the mayor.
“The logistics center, the stopping point for transfers, may do without permanent buildings, because there will be an area where a tent city will be built. The investment to make it work for the military is huge. Only the design work will be expensive,” he adds.
The army does not expect that there will be F-35s in Líny
The mayor of Líně, Michal Gotthart, said that there are many people living in Líně who worked or are still working at the airport and welcome the fact that the army will return to the airport instead of building a factory.
“We were assured that there should not be a helicopter base, and we were assured that there should not be a conventional air base. It was also heard in the media that F-35 fighter jets could come here, so we were assured that it really wasn’t,” says the mayor of Líně.
It is a full-fledged airport, and no new airport of similar parameters will ever be created in the Czech Republic.
Security analyst Milan Mikulecký recalls that this is a very strategic airport.
“Not only by its location and the range of services it can offer, but also by the fact that it is a full-fledged airport, and in the Czech Republic, no new airport of similar parameters will ever be created anywhere. Therefore, its liquidation under the pretext of building a Gigafactory, which no one really wanted to build here anyway, or its further devastation under the former tenant would be irreparable damage,” he said in a statement to Seznam Zprávy.
There are no soldiers standing at the entrance to the airport as in the past, because the airport is leased by PlaneStation. However, the company’s manager, Petr Kutný, learned this week at the Regional Court in Pilsen that the company must vacate the airport within two months.
In 2000, the company leased the airport from the Ministry of Defense for 50 years. However, it unilaterally terminated the lease 11 years ago due to non-payment of rent, the company disagrees with this and has been in litigation for years.
“I am still convinced that we are right and we are in the right. There has been a notice that we believe is unjustified. The possibility of not paying the rent because the subject of the lease does not correspond to what we have in the contract is possible. After we receive the verdict, 99 percent of the time we will file an appeal and ask for a postponement of the execution,” outlined the next procedure, executive Kutný.
However, the appeal does not have a suspensive effect. The Supreme Court can postpone the enforceability of the decision, and thus postpone the two-month period for eviction, which begins to flow from the acquisition of legal force. According to the executive, PlaneStation is not going to clear the airport yet and will wait for the verdict.
There are dozens of companies in the area
Kutný also described who does everything in the airport area. “People imagine it’s just an airport and a few hangars. The area has 390 hectares. There are other tenants, logistics, trucking, manufacturing, locksmiths, car repairers, warehouses. There are about 60-70 companies here,” he adds.
The fact that the airport area is used a lot can also be seen in the vicinity of the airport. Many cars and trucks drive there during the day. But all the business of the companies in Líní will probably end, because the army has other plans for it after the court’s verdict.
“In addition to the already existing air rescue service with a training center, the army wants to build facilities for the active reserve battalion of the Czech Republic Armed Forces and a logistics center with storage facilities for the needs of both the army and allied units in the area of the Líně airport. The use by the alliance units is conditioned by a crisis situation of a military and non-military nature,” said the spokeswoman of the General Staff, Magdalena Dvořáková.
A dispute between the Ministry of Defense and PlaneStation
- PlaneStation Pilsen s.r.o. leased the airport from the state in 2000 for 50 years with an option for another 50 years. However, the Ministry of Defense terminated his lease in February 2012 due to non-payment of rent since February 2010. In 2013, the Ministry filed a lawsuit to vacate the premises.
- PlaneStation stopped paying rent in 2010 because it could not fully use the airport. She has been arguing for a long time that the ministry presented her with false parameters of the airport’s landing and takeoff runways, which is why larger airliners cannot land and take off there. Therefore, she demanded a discount on the rent and an amendment to the lease agreement, which the ministry refused.
The Ministry of Defense stated for Seznam Zprávy that the court confirmed once again that the current operator was using the premises of the Líně airport without authorization due to the validly terminated lease agreements.
“A date has been set by which they must vacate the airport and we believe that the company will comply with the court’s decision. As soon as the former tenant vacates the space, we will be able to continue to manage the entire area in accordance with our long-term plans,” wrote Simona Cigánková in a statement for the Department of Defense.
According to security analyst Milan Mikulecký, the sentence is fair.
“I see it as a tragic message about the state of our country. Not only because it took eleven years for the judiciary to reach this first final judgment, but also because the Ministry of Defense did not resolve for many years that the tenant was not fulfilling the terms of the contract and was devastating his property,” said an expert for Seznam Zprávy.
The manager Kutný argues that when the object of the lease – the premises in Líní – did not correspond to what they had in the contract, it was a reason not to pay the rent.
“In the event that the company does not respect the court’s decision, the fulfillment of the imposed obligation can be demanded by a proposal for judicial enforcement of the decision, or a proposal for an execution order,” says Mikulecký, and he assumes that the state will fulfill the promises it made when it planned the Gigafactory here and he will build all that he planned. That is, bypasses of municipalities and replacement airports for current air operators.
The military air rescue service will continue to operate in the area until 2028.
Lina Airport
- The airport in Líní, which is located about ten kilometers southwest of the center of Pilsen, was originally created for the needs of the Czechoslovak army, and military planes also flew from there most of the time.
- It began operating in 1952 and replaced the original Pilsen military airport near the Bor prison, whose history began before the First World War.
- In particular, the 5th Fighter Aviation Regiment operated in Líny, which moved to Pilsen in July 1949 from České Budějovice – first to Bory and three years later to the new airport. The unit that followed the activities of the 312th Czechoslovak Army after the war. squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF), from there she flew MiG-15 jets and later MiG-19 supersonic machines. From 1970, the regiment operated various versions of the MiG-21 fighter until its disbandment in August 1991.
- Since the beginning of the 1960s, helicopters have been flying from Líní, the operation of which – unlike fixed-wing machines – has never been completely canceled by the army here.
- From the mid-1980s, the 11th helicopter regiment operated here with Mi-17s and Mi-24 fighters, it was disbanded at the turn of 1994 and 1995. Since the first half of the 1990s, an air rescue service operating with helicopters has operated in Líny under the direction of the army W3-A Falcon.
- The runway here was originally 2,000 meters long, but during reconstruction in the 1980s, it was extended to the current 2.5 kilometers.
- After the departure of fighters and later combat helicopters, the airport has been public since 1996, but the army has it as a reserve. It remains the property of the Ministry of Defense (MoD), which leased it 24 years ago to the company PlaneStation Pilsen, which should vacate the airport after today’s ruling.
Tags: Buildings demolished airport army return
-
