Phitsanulok Airport Guide (PHS)

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

PHS is a one-terminal domestic airport with a short list of services. This guide covers what you will find inside, how long things take and the best ways into Phitsanulok and on to Sukhothai.

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

Phitsanulok Airport (PHS) is a domestic airport on the southern edge of Phitsanulok in lower northern Thailand, about 5 km from Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat and the Nan River waterfront. Thai AirAsia and Thai Lion Air fly from here to Bangkok Don Mueang. Travellers use it for the city itself and as a cheaper gateway to Sukhothai Historical Park, about 58 km north-west.

A military airfield with a civil terminal

The airfield opened in 1941. The land belongs to the Royal Thai Air Force, and the Department of Airports runs the civil side, so airline passengers share the 3,000 m runway with military aircraft, which account for most of the movements here. Two decommissioned Orient Thai Airlines Boeing 747s parked beside the tarmac are a reminder of a carrier that stopped flying in October 2018.

The 3,000 m runway and published hours

The runway, 14/32, is 3,000 m long and 45 m wide. The airfield lies about 47 m above sea level on the flat central plain and has Category 6 fire cover. The aerodrome's published hours are 07:00 to 19:00 local time, and customs and immigration are available on request only, so every scheduled flight is domestic. The terminal opens ahead of the first departure and closes once the last flight has been handled.

Traffic recovery since 2019

Phitsanulok handled 517,449 passengers in 2025, up 12.67 percent, on 3,674 aircraft movements. That is still below the 689,392 passengers and 5,661 flights recorded in 2019, before the pandemic. Freight is small, about 16.5 tonnes a year.

Don Mueang flights with Thai AirAsia and Thai Lion Air

Scheduled flights go only to Bangkok Don Mueang. Thai AirAsia and Thai Lion Air operate several flights a day between them, and the flight takes about an hour. Nok Air flew the route for years but dropped it in February 2026. There is no service to Suvarnabhumi, so anyone connecting to an international flight transfers between Bangkok's airports.

Check-in, café and car rental desks

There is one compact passenger terminal. Expect check-in counters, a small café and snack counter, car rental desks in arrivals and a taxi counter. Counters and the café follow the flight schedule, so very early or late arrivals may find little open. There is no lounge and no bank branch listed at the airport, and the post office is in town. Phitsanulok has plenty of cheap food, including the night market by the river, so eat in town before your flight.

Fixed taxi fares into Phitsanulok

The airport lies off the southern ring road. Tell the taxi counter in arrivals where you are going and you get a fixed fare for the whole car, usually ฿150 to ฿400; confirm the price on the slip before setting off. Grab works in Phitsanulok, typically ฿200 to ฿350 into town, though drivers may ask you to walk to a pickup point outside the terminal. City bus line 4 also serves the airport, but it runs infrequently and stops are signed only in Thai.

Buses and cars to Sukhothai

Buses to Sukhothai leave from the city bus terminal and take about an hour for ฿50 to ฿70, so take a taxi or Grab there first. A car for the whole trip costs about ฿600 to ฿800. A car with a driver booked on bookingMentor meets your flight and goes straight to your hotel in New Sukhothai or beside the old city, without changing at the bus terminal. Phitsanulok station, in the city centre, is on the Northern Line between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, with more than a dozen trains each way daily, which makes a fly-in, train-out trip easy to plan.

Phitsanulok's history and main temple

Phitsanulok is one of Thailand's oldest cities. It served as a second capital under the late Sukhothai kingdom and in the Ayutthaya period, when it guarded the northern frontier against Lanna. King Naresuan the Great was born here, and his birthplace at Chan Palace now holds a shrine to him. The city was fought over repeatedly in the Burmese–Siamese wars and was largely destroyed in 1775.

Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat, known locally as Wat Yai, is the main sight. It houses Phra Buddha Chinnarat, one of the most revered Buddha images in Thailand, and a fair is held there every January. A few houseboats still line the Nan River nearby, with a houseboat museum open to visitors. The Buranathai Buddha Foundry lets visitors watch bronze images being cast, and dragon boat races run on the river on the first weekend of October.

Booking ahead for Songkran and the temple fair

An hour before departure is usually enough. Flights fill around Songkran, the New Year and the January temple fair, so book ahead for those dates.

Landside and airside

At Phitsanulok, landside is the check-in hall and arrivals area open to anyone; airside is the departure lounge after the security check. Both are small, and most of the few food and drink options are landside, so eat before you go through.