Punggaluku Airport

The airport was closed because it was replaced by a superior facility. Punggaluku Airport had significant operational limitations, including a short runway and being surrounded by hilly terrain, which restricted the size of aircraft that could operate there and posed safety concerns. The development and shift to the larger, better-located Wolter Monginsidi Airport (now Haluoleo Airport, ICAO: WAWW) was an economic and logistical necessity to accommodate regional growth and larger, more modern aircraft.

The airport is completely abandoned and defunct. The physical outline of the runway is still visible from satellite imagery, but it is heavily overgrown with grass and shrubs. The land has been repurposed by the local community; parts of the former runway and apron are used for small-scale agriculture, as a local access road, and have been encroached upon by residential housing. The site is not maintained and has been largely reclaimed by nature and local settlement.

Punggaluku Airport served as the first primary civilian airfield for Kendari, the capital of Southeast Sulawesi province, in the post-independence era. It was a critical piece of infrastructure for what were known as 'pioneer flights' (penerbangan perintis), which connected the isolated region to major hubs like Makassar. Operations primarily consisted of smaller propeller aircraft, most notably the Douglas DC-3 Dakota. The airport was essential for government administration, mail delivery, and the limited passenger and cargo traffic of that time, playing a key role in the early development of the province.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Punggaluku Airport for aviation purposes. The region's air transportation needs are comprehensively served by the modern and continuously upgraded Haluoleo Airport (IATA: KDI), which has a long runway and full-service facilities. The old Punggaluku site is now physically unsuitable for modern aviation due to its short length, terrain, and encroachment by local development, making any potential reactivation infeasible and unnecessary.