HKT-Spot1
Phuket Intl. Airport – Spotting Guide
- last modified on April 26, 2026
Phuket Airport (HKT/VTSP) is situated on the most north-west part of Phuket Island not far from the bridge connecting the island to the mainland. The airport has just finished a reconstruction/expansion of the International terminal also adding a larger apron in the west with open-air stands serviced by transfer buses instead of by air bridge.
HKT has seen a lot of changes over the last few years, both to be able to handle an ever-increasing passenger volume (16 Mio.) but also to bring security standards up to International levels. The airport is relatively short for space and buildings and infrastructure have grown very close to its perimeters. This has in turn lead to erection of a rather obnoxious fence along the southernmost perimeter and thereby ruining some great places for spotters. The only remaining really good spot which is also accepted by police/airport security is the beach adjacent to the threshold of runway 09. But being a bit street smart you can also get some nice shots off the 27 end. It is absolutely forbidden to take pictures through the fence.
BizJet activity can be plentiful at this airport, especially around the Chinese New Year. Global 6000, Hawker 800’s and and Gulfstreams are common. In the north side of the airport a Royal Thai Navy Base is set up with a small hangar which sometimes brings interesting military movements.
Spotters are tolerated at 09 end but at 27 end you risk being ushered off. Not allowed to take pictures through the fence. Be smart!
Written by Bengt Bergholm, Fryderyk Kastelnik, Clive Grant, Patrik Büchler, Joel Vogt, Jeremy Denton, Andrei Zinchuk, JG-Taro & Sua Neung. Last change: April 2026, Spot 7
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety | |
| Photo Locations |  |
| Weather | |
| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 09/27 | 3.000m (9.843 ft) Concrete |
| Terminals | |
| Terminal 1 | International flights only. |
| Terminal 2 | Domestic flights. |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Not necessary |
| Car/Public Transport | If you chose to stay at Grand West Sands Resort & Villas Phuket (see below) you do not have to worry about transport, you are already where you want to be. If you are staying at Nai Yang Beach I would recommend renting a motorbike (moped) since it can be difficult to explain to a taxi driver where exactly you want to go, and when you want to come back. Some of the hotels will also offer bikes for guest use, just don’t tell them you will be gone all day. We can recommend the App GRAB to get around. Fixed priced and paying by CC is possible. |
| Restrooms | Nothing at the locations, except at the hotels or terminals. |
| Drinks/Food | Nothing at the locations, except at the hotels or terminals. |
| Hotels | There are plenty of hotels both directly adjacent to the airport’s terminal side but also along the beach south of the airport called Nai Yang which is partly inside the Sirinat National Park which in turn stretches up to where runway 09 meets the beach. If your wallet is deep, then you may consider the prime spotting hotel – 5 star resort “Grand West Sands Resort & Villas Phuket” which is immediately to the north of the runway and which has direct access to the beach of your dreams. Beware though if you don’t like Russians, this seems to be their #1 spot to stay at Phuket. On Nai Yang beach (south of airport) I can recommend any of the 3 hotels I have used, Proud Phuket, Nai Yang Beach Resort and Chill House. Staying on Nai Yang will, depending on transport mode and route you chose put you at about 20min distance from runway 09 beach. |
| Season | November-March |
| Security | The safest spots for taking pictures at HKT are the one at the beach and the two at the terminal. At the spots 4 and 5 along the runway you will be approached by security. Usually they don`t speak english and somehow they will ask you to leave but at least not to delete your photos. |
| Runway Usage | |
| 09/27 | During high season the winds are mostly easterly and thus 09 is used a lot. Runway in use may still vary during the course of the day as winds may change during the afternoon. |
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Spot #1 – Nai Yang Beach – 09 arrivals |
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| WHERE | This spot is the only remaining prime spot for Phuket International Airport. It is also the spot where most spotters converge and are tolerated by airport security. There are plenty of opportunities to stay. Usually you will stay in the south where you have the sun behind you.
If the weather is not so good, the position in the north has the highest elevation where you can get aircraft lining up with minimal fence interference. If you bring a chair or ladder you might get over fence level but still far away enough not to pose any security concern. Use the South Entrance: Use the North Entrance: Written driving instructions: At the corner, continue onwards up to the main road (traffic lights). Take note of how it looks to aid your return. There is a 7-eleven at this crossing. Turn right at the 7-eleven and continue for approx 250m (800ft) and turn left at Soi Mai Khao 6. Continue on to the beach and find somewhere to park. Typically there is now a 800m (0.5 mile) walk along a path to the viewing area. However when I was there this week, a 20 baht per person fare will give you a ride in a “scooter taxi” down to the view point. |
| WHAT | All arrivals on rwy09 from this spot. It is also possible to take departure shots from Runway 27, although fast climbing traffic is likely to be too high by this point. Taking pictures from the line-up on rwy 09 from the mound over the fence is no longer possible due to a new,very high fence and its even forbidden! |
| TIME | All day all year round (during the summer months no arrivals from the beachside in the normal case) |
| MISC. | Bring water and sunblocker if you are planning to be all day. Bathing trousers are also recommended. The area closest to the fence was remodeled during 2016 to block prevent people from approaching it. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 10-300mm |
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| WHERE | As of December 2024 access to the terrace is once again blocked… |
| WHAT | |
| TIME | |
| MISC. | |
| FOCAL LENGTH | |
Photos below taken December 2024
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Spot #3 – Parking International Airport – 27 heavy departures |
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| WHERE | Follow the signs Phuket International Airport once you can notice the Car Parking International Airport. Drive to the latest floor. |
| WHAT | Morning departures rwy27. Heat haze can be an issue. |
| TIME | Almost all day all year round from November until March. |
| MISC. | Toilets and foods inside the terminal. 5 minutes walk. Keep a low profile while spotting here. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | A321 : 400mm / A333 : 200mm |
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Spot #4 -Air&Sea Café – All runway movements
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| WHERE | This spot is brand new, it opened in November 2025 and is not very well know yet. The café is much larger than the 8/5 runway café (spot #6) but without the diehard avgeek/spotter feel. It sports a fairly big restaurant with a full menu like most Thai restaurants. The location in on a hillside in the north-east and the view of the airport is fantastic. It is however not entirely unobstructed due to some vegetation and general topology of the mountain. Take the main road up the hill, then turn south at a small unnamed dirt road and now signs will guide you to the café.
Grab/Uber/Bolt/Taxi drivers are not very familiar with the site yet. Study Google Maps and also referring to “Mountain Weed” can help, that place has been there longer than the café. |
| WHAT | Being almost straight opposite the ATC tower and you can get shots of aircraft taking off 09 in their early climb-out passing the tower. Landings 27 happen right in front of you. Also taxi and line-up 27 as well as aircraft evacuating the runway after landing 09 are right below the spot. |
| TIME | The café has quite generous opening hours but the area is accessible around the clock. Do keep in mind that there will be some backlight from when the suns comes up over the mountains well into the afternoon. This does not however preclude getting excellent shots, sun is mostly straight up anyway. Go early afternoon and you will have the chance to catch traffic on both runway ends since they often switch active runway around 16:00 or so. |
| MISC. | Good standard toilets are available, also you can rent one of several stationary caravans with a protective roofs above them, price was pretty steep though. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 200-400 depending on the subject you look for |
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- View towards the south
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- View to the southwest
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- The café itsself
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- The caravans
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Spot #5 – Hill – All 27 movements, partially 09 |
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| WHERE | The location is a big hill on the north side of the airport. Get on the 3033 and drive westwards until you see a small temple. Park there and walk up the path as marked on the map for 10-15 minutes. The spot is located on a hill which is elevated and offers a nice sight of the runway. |
| WHAT | Great place for 27 movements as well as 09 departures and arrivals which will exit to the right of this spot. |
| TIME | Photos for planes on the runway are possible only in the afternoon during the summer months, starting in April and ending in September. It might be possible to photograph planes entering and vacating the runway two in the morning and evening hours. |
| MISC. | Nothing nearby, please take what you need. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100mm for 777; 150mm for A320 |
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Spot #6 – 8/5 Runway Cafe – All movements |
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| WHERE | There is a brand new café named “8/5 Runway Cafe”, directly at the runway. It is along the major road “4031” and not far from the airport terminal (10 minutes walk). For more details visit their Facebook page. The cafe offers an outside terrace on an upper level so you have a fantastic sight of the runway.
MAR 2026: the café now charges entrance fees which however get fully redeemed once you buy something. |
| WHAT | From here you have a perfect sight of all runway 09/27 movements. Furthermore the taxiway is can be photographed but aircraft are very close. |
| TIME | Almost all day all year round from November until March. |
| MISC. | The cafe is open from 9 in the morning until 7 in the evening. They have some very nice fruity drinks and the classic range of soft drinks as well. They ask you to take off your shoes or flip-flops as it is usual in many establishments in Thailand. Socks may save you from burning your feet on the hot floor. Also, beware of some tourists who are over-keen to take selfies and photos of their drinks with no respect to what other people might be doing at the same time. The platform is rather narrow and can be crowded, particularly on weekends. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Runway/Taxiway as follow: ATR-72: 135 mm / 35 mm; B737-800 (or A320): 110 mm / 25 mm B767-300: 70 mm / 18 mm B777-300: 55 mm / too big for my 18 mm lens, fisheye or smartphone required |
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Spot #7- Sea Sky @ My home – All movements |
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| WHERE | There is the Sea Sky Cafe while the hotel is named Sea Sky @ My Home directly at the runway and just a short jump from the “8/5 Cafe”. It is along the major road “4031” and not far from the airport terminal (10 minutes walk). There are several great photo spots at this place. The building is shaped like a V in plan. The tops of the V are facing the runway. The left building has a roof with a pool and a bar. In the right wing there are seats on the floor below at the ends of the balcony and a large empty room with large open windows.
Update April 2026: opened again after renovation. |
| WHAT | From here you have a perfect sight of all runway 09/27 movements. Furthermore the taxiway can be photographed but aircraft are very close as well as parts of the apron. This place allows you to take photos from a higher altitude than at the 8/5 Cafe. The main disadvantage of this point is the large number of wires in front of the building, this seriously limits the directions. Night photography is possible as well. |
| TIME | Almost all day all year round from November until March. |
| MISC. | The hotel has a cafe where you can drink and eat. There is a toilets too. We have no idea how to book a room in advance but it should be possible to enter the cafe without being a hotel guest. Search for “Sea Sky Room Service, Phuket Airport” on the third-party booking platforms. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Runway: 70-300mm -> China Eastern A20N = 240mm; IndiGo A20N = 120mm Taxiway: 24-70mm |
Taken from the pool bar
Taken from the right wing
Spot 7 is known as Sea Sky Cafe while the hotel is named Sea Sky @ My Home. The management is known as Sea Sky Room Service and room booking on third-party platform is searchable under this name. The cafe and rooftop are open daily from 7 am to 6 pm. There are not many seats for plane-spotting here. 8/5 RunwayCafe is better for capturing shots of plane takeoff and landing.
Spot #7 is now reopened with additional room services, which can be booked via both OTAs and direct (via Facebook Page). Monthly rental is possible with negotiable rate. Focal length of 24-70mm is more than enough for taxiway movements and 70-300 for runway movements. Night photography is also possible. Cafe opens Thursday – Tuesday 7am – 6pm but room services open daily with daily rate of 1500THB (approx 46USD/35GBP/40EUR and 59SGD). 3rd floor balcony can be accessed 24/7 for in-house guests but the swimming pool and rooftop close at 6pm daily.
Thanks, just updated it.
Spot 6 is now known as 8/5 Runway Cafe. Opening hours are now from 9 am to 6 pm. Not sure when is the last timing of entry.
Owners of the caffe (very nice folks) will talk to you if you are spotter. Mainly to find out where are you from etc. Once you spend enough time there, they will be happy to let you in even at 8am. The coffee shop might be still closed, but you can shoot until they open from the deck.
Spot #4 is once again closed and blocked off by the airport security. Additionally, we believe the airport security has coordinated with local drivers that usually park near the entrance to report any movement up and down the rock.
Yes indeed. I have removed it…
-Julian
Spot #7 is not opened at all. The hotel has closed down business. Not sure why the building is still there.
It’s currently closed for renovation, from what I heard.
There’s another spot below the 4th location, just at the entrance. It’s good for 09 departures when the aircraft’s are above the fences
Pictures can be seen from these posts (taken by me)
https://www.instagram.com/p/DSrzSNeD2ve/?igsh=MXd0MHBhN2gwamR3
https://www.instagram.com/p/DSeSiiWj2mZ/?igsh=c2FraHA3NHF0Z25z
Or maybe you can walk further to get the aircraft better, mine wants the rear of the plane’s angle
For spot #6 Runway 5/8 Cafe I would like to add that they started collecting entrance fee 80 BHT – equivalent of $2.5 – This becomes your F&B credit at the cafe. So entry is still free, but you have to buy something from them. This actually helped a lot with the spotting. No more 50 students visits during the day. Still a lot of people come and go thought out the day, but not as much when they didn’t collect entrance fees. And the light is good from mid October until mid April.
There is a new spot that opened not too long ago. Its a restaurant at Air & Sea Cafe. They actually cut the trees so people can get runway views. You can shoot from the parking lot but you have to navigate between the trees at the bottom for clear pictures. Sample shot with 300mm lens from parking lot of that restaurant https://flic.kr/p/2rJiF9E Food is pretty expensive but you pay for the views.
Forgot to add that this spot is good from late April until early October when the sun is on the North side. Or when is raining or completely overcast during the other months of the year. This picture was taken during overcast afternoon.
According to the Facebook page of Air & Sea Cafe, the cafe is closed for renovations from 12 January 2026.
Only closed for 1 day. Opened since 13 January.
Hello was just wondering how you can get to spot 1 on the left of runway 09, I’ve tried before and there’s a big river than runs through the forest and beach blocking access to the spot, how do you get there?
Access from the south should be possible without problems. Check the map, there you can see the entrance.
-Julian
Could you elaborate please by when you say access from south because the map shows two spot 1 and the one I was wondering was the spot that is parallel to 09, I don’t understand how I could access from south when I still end up at the river that’s quit deep.
Both spots #1 are from the beach side. South spot is at Nayang beach and north spot is at Mai Khao beach. You can access both spots via the beach.
I was at spot #6 yesterday and I can really recommend it. You have everything you need: drinks, food, restrooms, WiFi and a roof when it rains. The power lines are a bit obstructing the view and you don’t have too much space up there but you will always get some nice shots. One of the best spotting locations I’ve ever been to.