Pran Buri Airport

Military Conversion / Redundancy. The airport was not 'closed' in a commercial sense but rather transitioned from an active military airfield to an auxiliary part of a larger army base. Its primary function was military, and it was never a public or commercial airport. The nearby Hua Hin Airport (HHQ) serves all regional commercial and private aviation needs, making a separate public airport in Pran Buri redundant.

The site remains an integral part of the active Thanarat Infantry Center, a major Royal Thai Army base. The former runway is still visible and largely intact but is no longer maintained as an active airfield. It is now used as a multi-purpose training area for military drills, vehicle maneuvering, parade grounds, and potentially as a temporary landing zone for helicopters. The area is under strict military control and is not accessible to the public.

The airfield, located within the Royal Thai Army's Thanarat Infantry Center (ค่ายธนะรัชต์), served as a military airstrip. Its primary operations included supporting the army base with logistical flights, troop transport (likely via C-130 or similar aircraft), parachute training, and operations for military helicopters and light observation aircraft. It played a role in military exercises and training for the Infantry Center, which is one of the most important army training facilities in Thailand. It never handled scheduled commercial or civilian passenger traffic. The ICAO code TH-0018 is a national, non-standard identifier typically assigned to small, private, or military fields not part of the main civil aviation network.

There are no known or credible plans to reopen the airfield as a public or commercial airport. The region is adequately served by Hua Hin Airport (HHQ), which is approximately 30-40 km to the north and has undergone expansions to handle growing tourist traffic. Any future aviation development would almost certainly focus on upgrading the existing facilities at Hua Hin rather than developing a new airport on an active army base.