Loei Airport Guide (LOE)

By the bookingMentor Travel Desk · Updated October 22, 2026 · How we research

Loei's airport is small and handles a couple of flights a day. This guide covers what is inside the terminal and the realistic ways to reach Loei town, Chiang Khan and the national parks.

Please note: Flights, hotels near the airport and car hire with driver on this page can be booked directly on bookingMentor. We list places on merit, and bookings never affect what we say about them.

What to expect

Loei Airport (LOE) is a small domestic airport in Na An subdistrict, about 5 km from Loei town in the hilly north-east of Thailand. It has one route, to Bangkok Don Mueang with Thai AirAsia. Hikers bound for Phu Kradueng, visitors to the Mekong town of Chiang Khan and festival-goers heading to Dan Sai use it, since flying is the quickest way into this mountainous province.

How the airport came to be here

Loei's first airstrip was a temporary field near the provincial hall in the centre of town. In 1942 the provincial governor began moving it to the present site, clearing forest and levelling the ground. The Royal Thai Air Force took over in 1946, built a passenger terminal and improved the runway, and the Department of Commercial Aviation assumed control in 1968, adding a fire station, an engine workshop and navigation aids. Sources give the start of regular flying as December 1953 or December 1954.

Building work in 1969 damaged the Wat Pho Chai archaeological site on the airfield, leaving only the broken foundation of an ordination hall. More land was bought in 1972 for a longer runway, taxiways and aircraft parking. The government backed customs-airport status in January 2016, granted in 2017, and on 17 September 2018 approved buying a further 360 rai for a bigger apron and a new passenger terminal.

A small terminal with taxi and car rental desks

Today's terminal is a single small building with check-in counters, car rental booths and a taxi desk in arrivals, and tuk-tuks waiting outside. Food is minimal, so eat in Loei or Chiang Khan before your flight. There is no lounge, no bank branch and no hotel on site. The aerodrome's published hours are 06:00 to 18:00, and in practice the building opens ahead of the first Thai AirAsia departure and closes after the last arrival.

Customs-airport status has not brought scheduled international flights, and the official aeronautical publication lists no customs or immigration service at present. Anyone arriving from abroad connects in Bangkok.

The 2,100 m runway and turning limits

A single asphalt runway, 01/19, runs 2,100 m by 45 m. The airfield lies about 260 m above sea level and has Category 6 fire cover. Larger aircraft are not permitted to turn on the runway and must use the turning pads at each end.

Loei handled 198,733 passengers in 2024, up 1.81 percent, with 1,754 aircraft movements. That works out at one aircraft on the ground at a time and very short queues. Over the years Nok Air, Thai Smile, Happy Air, Solar Air and Andaman Air all tried the route before withdrawing.

Twice-daily flights from Don Mueang

Thai AirAsia flies from Bangkok Don Mueang, typically about twice a day, in a little over an hour. There is no service from Suvarnabhumi, so long-haul arrivals transfer across Bangkok first. With one airline on the route, fares rise quickly before Thai holidays and the cool-season weekends when Bangkok residents head to the mountains.

Phu Kradueng and other places to visit from Loei

Phu Kradueng National Park is the best-known reason to fly here. Proclaimed on 23 November 1962, it covers 348 km² around a plateau averaging 1,250 m, topped by Khok Moei at 1,316 m. The park closes to visitors in the rainy season, from 1 June to 30 September, so check the dates before booking a flight for the climb.

Chiang Khan, about 50 km north on the Mekong, is the riverside town most visitors combine with Loei, and Phu Ruea National Park is another common day out. In Dan Sai district, the three-day Phi Ta Khon festival, also called Bun Luang, fills the town with masked dancers in palm-sheath masks topped with sticky-rice baskets. Local spirit mediums set the dates each year, usually for late June or early July, and the flights sell out once they are announced.

Fixed taxi fares to town and Chiang Khan

Taxis work on fixed fares of about ฿200 to ฿400 into town, a ten-minute drive, and ฿500 to ฿800 to Chiang Khan, 45 to 60 minutes away. Agree the price at the counter, and share with other passengers from your flight to cut the cost. Tuk-tuks suit a hotel in town if your luggage is light.

No bus calls at the terminal. Buses and songthaews to Chiang Khan leave from Loei bus station for about ฿10, so take a taxi or tuk-tuk there first. Because Loei's sights are spread out and public transport between them is thin, many visitors book a car with a driver on bookingMentor and go straight from arrivals to Chiang Khan, Phu Ruea or Dan Sai.

Check-in and the airport's early closing

Arrive an hour or more before your flight. The terminal is small, but check-in closes on the airline's schedule, only one aircraft departs at a time, and the airport shuts in the early evening, so a missed flight means a night in town and the next day's departure.

Landside and airside

At Loei, landside is the check-in hall and arrivals area; airside is the departure room after security. Both are compact, and there is little to buy on either side.