Luang Prabang has now its brand new terminal after the refurbished and expanded runway opened to civil aviation last year.
LUANG PRABANG – It took almost a decade since it was first announced; Finally Luang Prabang got rid of its old terminal building and thanks to the generosity of China has now an air terminal which will welcome passengers in a more comfortable and cooling (due to air conditioning) environment. The new terminal was inaugurated in June and offers anything that a modern airport in Asia should offer today, from shops to air con, from passengers’ bridge to the restaurant. Among the improvements are now six passport control counters, one reserved for diplomacy and official visits. In order to get Visa on arrival, one has to go to the side counter.
On the departure side, the airport has now six check-in counters, a sufficient number as the airport only welcomes less than a dozen of flights every day. ble to land at the world heritage town.
The project was announced in September 2009 with the cost of building the runway and terminal estimated by then at US$86.4 million. This was covered by a loan, financed by the Chinese government under an agreement between bocth Laotian and Chinese governments. The new terminal can now accommodate over a million passengers while the new 2,900 long runway is capable to welcome any type of aircraft. They are currently only four carriers serving the airport, including the two Laotian registered airlines, Lao Airlines and Lao Central Airlines.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
