On 26 June 2026 Finland’s Ministry of Defence authorised the Defence Forces to buy military aviation services from the airport operator Finavia. The purchase is worth €15.3 million, excluding VAT, for 2026, and €48.8 million in total if the options for 2027 and 2028 are taken up. Among other things it covers airport charges, airport maintenance and air traffic control. In effect, it puts a price on availability itself. An airport can be physically able to receive a military transport aircraft and still not be available to the armed forces when they need it. Several things stand between the runway and its authorised military use: sovereign permissions; civil safety rules and the responsibilities of the airport operator; staff and opening hours; air navigation, rescue, handling and fuel services supplied by different organisations; and the question of who pays for readiness before any aircraft arrives. Finland buys services from the operator of its national airport network. Sweden pays 27 designated airports to stay ready around the clock, through agreements negotiated by its transport administration. Latvia, with co-financing from the Connecting Europe Facility, is rebuilding an apron at Riga for civilian and military use. Each instrument buys a different part of availability, and none buys all of it. The question is which combination of rights, obligations and payments turns a civil airport into a capacity the armed forces can count on, and what each component costs.