If you’re traveling to Hua Hin, you may consider traveling to the city directly via its airport. Perhaps you heard about the closure of the airport a few years ago, so you might wonder whether the airport is still under lock. Or is Hua Hin Airport open now? Where can you fly directly from Hua Hin Airport?
According to reports from different sources, Hua Hin Airport is now open and serving different destinations. So, if you want to fly directly to the airport to your destination, you may want to check any available flights. Regardless, it’s important to note that you can fly directly to Hua Hin Airport via only a few airports and airlines.
Why was the airport closed before? When did it open again? There are many things to know about Hua Hin Airport. So, let’s take the time to explain them in this post.
Overview of Hua Hin Airport
As the name suggests, this airport is located in Hua Hin and is meant to serve the needs of people in the province of Prachuap Khiri Khan in Thailand. The code name of the airport is HHQ.
Although it’s an international airport, it’s relatively small and grossly underused. In fact, the airport primarily takes care of the needs of charter flights and local aviation colleges around the province. However, there are also flights from a few countries and other cities in Thailand.
According to Flightsfrom.com, Hua Hin only welcomes flights regularly from AirAsia, a Malaysia-based airline. This airline operates in the airport about 4 times every week. In 2019, the airline took more than 44,000 passengers from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) to Hua Hin. As of February 2023, aeroplanes come to Hua Hin Airport from only 4 airports globally.
Why was Hua Hin Airport closed?
Based on reports, Hua Hin Airport shut down most of its operations following the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic led to a significant decrease in the number of individuals visiting the city of Hua Hin, and the airport was unused for a long period. AirAsia suspended its operations, and the airport hardly got any chartered planes too.
As a result of these issues, the airport was shut down for some months. The airport reopened in 2022.
Why is Hua Hin Airport underused?
Considering its importance to the province of Prachuap Khiri Khan, you might wonder why Hua Hin Airport is underused. The reason is stated below:
- Hua Hin is close to Bangkok
Generally, the proximity of Hua Hin to Bangkok is the main reason Hu Hin is underused. The city of Hua Hin is only 200km away from Bangkok. Hence, people can travel by bus or private car from the capital city of Thailand to Hua Hin within 3 to 4 hours. Given this, many travelers prefer to save money and take a car or bus between the two cities instead of flying via the airport.
Previously, Siam General Aviation (SGA) Airlines, Lion Air, and Nok Air used to operate domestic flights from Bangkok to Hua Hin and vice versa. However, since people prefer traveling via bus or car, the airlines experienced low patronage. As a result of this, they suspended their operations.
Where can you fly from Hua Hin Airport?
If you’re in Hua Hin and want to use the city’s airport to fly, there are many destinations you can fly to. If you’re chartering a private jet, you can go to Bangkok and many other cities in Thailand. The airport also serves a few other countries such as Malaysia, China, and Hong Kong.
However, if you want to use commercial airlines, the options are grossly limited. Locally, Thai AirAsia flies passengers from Hua Hin Airport to Chiang Mai, another popular holiday destination in Thailand. There are also flights to Udon Thani in Thailand. These local flights are usually scheduled for Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. So, you can only use them during one of these days.
Internationally, the airport only takes care of the needs of passengers traveling to or from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. As noted by Traveldailymedia.com, the airline planned to extend its reach to India, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
What are the facilities at Hua Hin Airport?
To give travelers exceptional experiences, Hua Hin Airport has a plethora of facilities. According to Domesticflightsthailand.com, the facilities include the following:
- An information counter
- A ticket counter for booking flights
- Snack stalls
- Toilets
- Coffee stalls
- Rent-a-car booth
Although the airport lacks some basic amenities, it’s good enough to make people travel from Hua Hin to other places.
Plans to expand the airport
To deal with certain challenges that Hua Hin Airport has, the government planned to expand the airport. According to the Department of Airports, about 3.5 billion THB will go into the expansion program. The project was scheduled to take place for about five years.
The current terminal would be upgraded while a new one would be added. Other upgrades are also meant to take place during the project of expanding Hua Hin Airport. Once done, the expansion will increase the passenger capacity, quality of services, destinations, and lots more significantly.
Can you fly through Hua Hin Airport?
At the moment, flying through Hua Hin Airport is a bit dicey. The airlines serving the airport don’t go to many destinations. So, there’s no guarantee that you’ll find a flight that fits your needs. Therefore, take the time to check if there’s any flight going your way.
Nevertheless, this shouldn’t stop you from visiting the city of Hua Hin as it’s close to Bangkok. So, fly to Bangkok and take a private car, train, bus, or minivan to Hua Hin from the capital city.
Conclusion
Our research shows Hua Hin Airport is open and operative now. However, you should bear in mind that the airport is limited as only a few airlines operate there. Therefore, it may be difficult for you to get a direct flight from Hua Hin Airport to your destination in Thailand or abroad.