Defunct airports of Southeast Asia

A list of closed airports in Southeast Asia, and which airports you can still visit.

Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport opened on 16 October 2023, replacing Siem Reap International Airport. This airport closure got me thinking about other airports in Southeast Asia that have closed and been replaced.

This is a list of airport that have closed for civilian use. Some airports are still operating as military airports. I haven’t including airports that were only for military purposes.

Defunct airports of Southeast Asia

Map of defunct airports of Southeast Asia
Cambodia
Siem Reap International Airport
Indonesia
Kemayoran Airport (Jakarta)
Polonia International Airport (Medan)
Selaparang Airport (Mataram)
Temindung Airport (Samarinda)
Malaysia
Lutong Airport (Miri)
Sungai Besi Airport (Kuala Lumpur)
Philippines
Bacolod City Domestic Airport
Legazpi Airport
Lumbia Airport (Cagayan de Oro)
Malaybalay Airport
Maria Cristina Airport (Iligan)
Neilson Airport (Manila)
Tagbilaran Airport
Singapore
Kallang Airport
Paya Lebar Airport
Thailand
Chiang Rai Airport
Vietnam
Gia Lam Airport (Hanoi)
Nha Trang Airport
Phu Quoc Airport

Map of defunct airports of Southeast Asia

This map shows defunct airports (grey) and the replacement airport (blue).

[View map of defunct airports of Southeast Asia.]

Cambodia 🇰🇭

Siem Reap International Airport

[Siem Reap International Airport (photo © Mark Bowyer from Siem Reap travel guide).]

Siem Reap International Airport was a typical old airport of Southeast Asia in that it was close to the city it served. The distance from Siem Reap International Airport to Siem Reap is about 9 km. I’ve used Pub Street as a target location in this Google Map.

While 9 km is far enough from a low-rise city like Siem Reap, the problem with the old airport was that it was in the midst of the Angkor Archeological Park.

[Map of Siem Reap International Airport and Angkor Archeological Park.]

Authorities were concerned about the effect of pollution and noise vibrations on the historic monuments, and UNESCO did not approve of an airport expansion.

Cambodia also has ambitions to bring more visitors to Angkor, so the airport has been moved to allow future growth. The airport was built under a build-operate-transfer model with Chinese enterprises. They will be looking to recoup their investment with round-the-clock flights from China.

The new airport is over 50 km from Siem Reap, so let’s hope the proposed airport rail link goes ahead.

Indonesia 🇮🇩

Kemayoran Airport (Jakarta)

[Kemayoran Airport in 1940 via Wikimedia Commons.]

Kemayoran Airport was the main airport for Jakarta from 1940 until 1985. It had the IATA code of JKT, which is now used when searching for flights for the two airports of Jakarta (Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK) and Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport (HLP)).

Kemayoran had a diverse range of international flights, back when airlines had to hop thier way around the globe.

Pan Am used to fly here from Los Angeles with stops in Honolulu and Hong Kong. Interesting to note that there are currently no US airlines that serve any airport in Indonesia.

Kemayoran is now the site of the Jakarta International Exposition Center (JIExpo).

Polonia International Airport (Medan)

Polonia International Airport in Medan is the only airport on this list that I have flown to (in 2009). I was unaware that the airport would close in 2013 and that I would need photos for a blog post in 2023, so I didn’t take any photos. I now take photos of every airport I visit.

[Photo of Polonia International Airport via Wikimedia Commons.]

The airport for Medan moved to Kualanamu International Airport in 2013. The new airport is 23 km from the city centre, but at least they built an airport railway to go with it.

The location of Polonia is in the city of Medan. I remember there used to be a guesthouse area near the airport and the taxi ride was so short that I wondered if I overpaid for the service.

The old airport is now the Soewondo Air Force Base, so it has only closed for commercial use. The airport location was cited as a reason for some crashes, yet the airport remains as an air force base.

The wiki page for Polonia now diverts to the Soewondo page. I found the last web archive version of the page before the airport closed, but it doesn’t list old routes. On the Soewondo Air Force Base Wiki page they list old international routes, including:

Hong Kong, Taipei, Amsterdam, Phuket, Chennai, Johor Bahru, Malacca and Ipoh.

By comparison, Kuala Namu has the following international routes (as of 2023):

Bangkok-Don Muang, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Singapore, Jeddah, Medina.

Looking at the old international flights to Indonesian airports highlights how international travel to Indonesia is now mainly to Bali. The Indonesian government is trying to address this inbound imbalance with the 10 New Balis project.

Here is a website that has a photo gallery of old aircraft at Polonia Airport.

Selaparang Airport (Mataram)

Airport: Selaparang Airport, Mataram, Lombok.
In operation: until 2011.
Replaced by: Lombok International Airport, Central Lombok Regency.

Temindung Airport (Samarinda)

Airport: Temindung Airport, Samarinda, East Kalimantan.
In operation: 1974 to 2018.
Replaced by: Aji Pangeran Tumenggung Pranoto International Airport, North Samarinda, Samarinda.

Malaysia 🇲🇾

Lutong Airport

Airport: Lutong Airport, Miri, Sarawak.
In operation: WWII to early 2000s.
Replaced by: Miri Airport.

Sungai Besi Airport (Kuala Lumpur)

[Sungai Besi Airport terminal building via roots.gov.sg.]

Sungai Besi Airport served as the original Kuala Lumpur International Airport from 1952 to 1965 before it was moved to Subang International Airport (still in operation) and then KLIA.

Sungai Besi Airport is close to the city centre, and you can see the airport when you catch the airport train to the current KLIA.

[The old Sungai Besi Airport viewed from the KLIA Ekspres.]

The airport continued to operate as Sungai Besi Air Base until 2018. The airport is now the site of the proposed Bandar Malaysia mega development. The proposed KL-Singapore high-speed railway will have the terminal station here, and there are two provisional stations (Bandar Malaysia Utara and Bandar Malaysia Selatan) on the MRT Putrajaya Line.

Philippines 🇵🇭

Bacolod City Domestic Airport

Airport: Bacolod City Domestic Airport, Bacolod, Negros Occidental.
In operation: 1936 to 2008.
Replaced by: Bacolod–Silay Airport.

Bacolod City Domestic Airport was an airport that could claim its city title, as it was in the city. The runway sticks out into the Guimaras Strait, and the end of the runway is now a sunset viewing point.

Legazpi Airport

Airport: Legazpi Airport, Albay, Bicol.
In operation: 1946 to 2021.
Replaced by: Bicol International Airport, Daraga, Albay.

Lumbia Airport (Cagayan de Oro)

Airport: Lumbia Airport, Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental.
In operation: 1930s to 2013.
Replaced by: Laguindingan Airport, Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental.

Lumbia Airport was the airport of Cagayan de Oro until 2013. The airport is now under control of the Philippine Air Force and is known as Lumbia Airfield.

Malaybalay Airport

Airport: Malaybalay Airport, Bukidnon, Northern Mindanao.
In operation: until 1990s.

The land of Malaybalay Airport has been tunred into a housing area.

Mandurriao Airport (Iloilo City)

Airport: Mandurriao Airport, Iloilo City, Iloilo, Western Visayas.
In operation: 1937 to 2007.
Replaced by: Iloilo International Airport, Cabatuan, Iloilo, Western Visayas.

The old Mandurriao Airport (Iloilo City Airport) is now the site of the Iloilo Convention Center.

Maria Cristina Airport (Iligan)

Airport: Maria Cristina Airport, Barangay Maria Cristina, Balo-i, Lanao del Norte.
In operation: until 2013.

Iligan-Baloi Airport (Maria Cristina Airport) was 17 km south of Iligan City. The new airport for the region is Laguindingan Airport, which is 63 km north of Iligan City.

Nielson Airport

Airport: Nielson Field, Makati, Metro Manila.
In operation: 1937 to 1948.
Replaced by: Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Parañaque and Pasay, Metro Manila.

Nielson Field was a US Air Force base that became the airport of Manila. Neilson Airport was in what is now Makati. The control tower is still standing and it’s now home to Blackbird at the Nielson Tower.

[Photo by Crath at English Wikipedia via Wikimedia Commons.]

Tagbilaran Airport

Airport: Tagbilaran Airport, Bohol.
In operation: 1960s to 2018.
Replaced by: Bohol–Panglao International Airport, Panglao, Bohol.

Singapore 🇲🇾

Kallang Airport

Kallang Airport was the first airport of Singapore, operating from 1937 to 1955 as Singapore International Airport. This airport operated in the era of the Kangaroo Route, where airlines would hop their way from London to Sydney with several stops on the way.

B.O.A.C flew to Kallang, with stops including Bahrain, Bangkok, Beirut, Brisbane, Calcutta, Cairo, Jakarta-Kemayoran, Karachi, London-Heathrow, New Delhi, Rome, Shanghai/Longhua, and Sydney.

Another notable airline operating here was KLM, with destinations including Amsterdam, Bangkok, Beirut, Calcutta, Cairo, Colombo, Jakarta-Kemayoran, Karachi, Rangoon.

My dad is from the era of travellers who stopped in Beirut en route to London, and the flight was packaged with a stay at the Phoenicia Hotel. I can’t imagine that an airport in Southeast Asia will ever see an airline (let alone two) flying to Beirut again.

Amazingly, the Kallang terminal building is still standing (or perhaps not so amazing considering that Singapore does a better job at conserving its historical buildings than any other country in Southeast Asia). The government is still deciding what to do with the building. I like the idea of it becoming a transport museum.

[Photo by Daniel Taka via Wikimedia Commons.]

Paya Lebar Airport

Paya Lebar Airport was the second Singapore International Airport, replacing Kallang Airport in 1954.

Singapore International Airport was also used as a military base from 1967 onwards, with the United States Air Force using it en route to Vietnam. Singapore’s rise was underpinned by British and then U.S military spending. “In 1967, a full 15 percent of Singapore’s national income derived from U.S. military procurements for Vietnam”.

The most notable claim to fame for Paya Lebar was it was the base for the jointly operated British Airways & Singapore Airlines Concorde service.

SIA operated the Singapore-London Concorde Concorde service from 1977 to 1980.

The airport operated until 1980 when the civilian airport operations relocated to Changi.

The airport was renamed Paya Lebar Air Base, and it is still used as an air force base today. There are plans to relocate Paya Lebar by to an expanded Tengah Air Base in 2030.

Thailand 🇹🇭

Chiang Rai Airport

Airport: Chiang Rai Airport.
In operation: 1926 to 1992.
Replaced by: Chiang Rai International Airport.

The old Chiang Rai Airport is about 3 km from the Clock Tower, while the new airport is just under 10 km from the Clock Tower.

Vietnam 🇻🇳

Gia Lam Airport (Hanoi)

Gia Lam Airport was the main airport of Hanoi until it was replaced by Noi Bai International Airport in 1978.

Some of the most interesting destinations were from when Air France had to make multiple stops from Paris. Destinations on the Air France route included:

Akyab, Allahabad, Athens, Baghdad, Bangkok, Bushehr, Calcutta, Kastellorizo, Corfu, Damascus, Dezful, Jask, Jodhpur, Karachi, London-Croydon, Marseille, Naples, Paris-Orly, Rangoon, Vientiane.

Here is a route map and timetable from 1935.

[Image via timetableimages.com.]

Other obvious destinations included Moscow-Domodedovo, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, and Berlin-Schönefeld.

Gia Lam was the airport where American POWs were turned over to the U.S. delegation in 1973.

[Gia Lam Airport 1973, photo via manhhai.]

Gia Lam is still used as a military airport, and it was briefly considered to be reverted into a regional airport. That proposal was scrapped in 2018, while a new second airport for Hanoi has been proposed at an undetermined location.

Nha Trang Airport

Nha Trang Airport – like most airports in Vietnam – began life as a military airport. It was used by the French Air Force, Vietnamese Air Force, and US Air Force, and then a commercial airport.

Nha Trang Airport was in the city centre and near the beach. If it was operating today it would be Instafamous as aircraft would approach the runway over the beach.

[Nha Trang Beach from my visit in 2005.]

I first visited Nha Trang in 2005, and I was impressed that the airport was so close to the city. On that trip I got a bus all the way from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, so I never took a flight at NHA.

The airport for Nha Trang was moved to the former Cam Ranh Air Base, about 30 km from the city centre. Cam Ranh became an international airport in 2009.

With the closure of Nha Trang Airport, the city has been able to build tall buildings along the seafront, and the beachfront looks completely different from my first visit. Flights from SGN to CXR go over Nha Trang before getting into the landing queue. Here is a photo of Nha Trang at night. The blacked out section at the bottom of the photo is the site of old Nha Trang Airport.

[Flying over Nha Trang at night (in 2019).]

There are plans to turn the old airport site into a new urban area, but for now the land remains undeveloped.

[Redevelopment proposal at Nha Trang Airport site.]

Phu Quoc Airport

Phu Quoc Airport (also known as Duong Dong Airport) was the airport of Phu Quoc Island until the new airport was built in 2012. This was another airport that was close to the main town (Dương Đông town). The runway is on an east-west axis and blocks the road that goes from north to south. The runway is used a shortcut, and you can still ride around on the runway (a good place to learn how to ride a motorbike).

[Runway of old Phu Quoc Airport in Duong Dong.]

You can also ride up to the terminal building.

[Old Phu Quoc Airport terminal building.]

As with Nha Trang, there is a plan to turn the old airport into a new urban area, but nothing has eventuated yet. Phu Quoc has been heavily over-developed, so there may not be any demand for years to come.