Loeng Nok Tha Airport

Military Decommissioning and Strategic Obsolescence

The site of the former airfield has been fully integrated into the Royal Thai Army's Prasert Songkhram Camp (ค่ายประเสริฐสงคราม), which is the base for the 16th Infantry Regiment. The original runway is still clearly visible from satellite imagery and is largely intact. However, it is no longer maintained as an active runway. The paved surface is now used for military drills, vehicle training, parades, and other non-aviation activities by the army. It is not accessible to the public.

Loeng Nok Tha Airport was not a commercial facility but a strategic military airfield constructed around 1966 by the US Army's 809th Engineer Battalion and the Royal Thai Army. Its primary purpose was to serve as a forward support base and logistics hub during the Vietnam War and the concurrent communist insurgency within Thailand. Located strategically near the border with Laos, it facilitated the movement of troops, supplies, and equipment. It also served as an emergency landing strip for military aircraft operating in the region. The airfield was part of a network of US-Thai military installations in Northeast Thailand crucial to the war effort. After the US withdrawal from Southeast Asia and the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, the airfield's strategic importance diminished, leading to the cessation of its primary aviation functions.

There are no known official plans or serious prospects for reopening Loeng Nok Tha as a civilian or commercial airport. Several factors make reopening highly unlikely: 1) The land is an active and important Royal Thai Army base, and its transfer would be complex. 2) The region is already served by larger, established airports such as Ubon Ratchathani Airport (UBP) and Roi Et Airport (ROI), which have sufficient capacity. 3) The runway and infrastructure would require a complete and costly reconstruction to meet modern civil aviation standards. 4) The economic justification for a new airport in the area is weak. Therefore, its future will almost certainly remain as a component of the Prasert Songkhram military camp.