Pakse International Airport is one of the few

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer r ...

s in

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...

Pakse Pakse (or ''Pakxe''; French: ''Paksé''; Laotian: ປາກເຊ 'mouth of the river'; th, ปากเซ) is the capital and most populous city of the southern Laotian province of Champasak, and the second most populous city in Laos. Loc ...

is the former southern capital city of the

Kingdom of Champasak The Kingdom of Champasak (Lao: ຈຳປາສັກ ɕàmpàːsák or Bassac, (1713–1904) was a Lao kingdom under Nokasad, a grandson of King Sourigna Vongsa, the last king of Lan Xang and son-in-law of the Cambodian King Chey Chet ...

Facilities

The airport has been in use since 1959 and re-opened after renovations in 2001. A new control tower next to the terminal replaced a short one to provide ATC at the airport. The terminal is designed to mimic the

Lan Xang existed as a unified kingdom from 1353 to 1707. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The meaning of the kingdom's name alludes to the power of the kingship and formidable war machine of the ea ...

-style architecture used for Buddhist temples in Laos. Though civilian, the airfield is also used by the military.

Lao People's Army The Lao People's Armed Forces (LPAF; lo, ກອງທັບປະຊາຊົນລາວ), is the armed forces of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the institution of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, who are charged with protecti ...

barracks and the headquarters of Military Region 4 are next to the airport. The airport is a military airfield for

Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force The Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force (LPLAAF) is the air force of Laos. History The present-day LPLAAF is descended from the Aviation Laotienne, which was established by the French and later became the Royal Lao Air Force. Pathet Lao guerr ...

aircraft as a detachment base.Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force
Aeroflight.co.uk.

Airlines and destinations

Accidents and incidents

*On 16 October 2013, Lao Airlines Flight 301, operated by an

ATR 72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed ...

–600 crashed into the

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...

on approach to Pakse, killing all 49 people on board. It was later determined that the causes of the crash included pilot error and poor weather.

References

External links

{{authority control Airports in Laos Buildings and structures in Champasak province Airports established in 1959 1959 establishments in Laos