Hengchun Airport 恆春機場

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Hengchun Airport (also known as Kenting Airport or HCN) has had no commercial flights in the past 10 years due to strong katabatic crosswinds coming down from the mountains. Now it just sits there in the middle of Hengchun (near Kenting), a giant waste of taxpayer money. Do not go there. 

Background:
Hengchun Airport was completed in 2004 to provide greater access to the Hengchun Peninsula especially from population centers like Taipei and Taichung. 
Commercial flights ran regularly until 2007 when Taiwan's high-speed rail was completed. In 2014, the last airport mostly stopped passenger flights. 
In 2019 the last passenger flight route to the airport was cancelled. 
Talks have been ongoing on what to do with the airport. It has been considered to give the military control of the airport, although there are not yet concrete plans to do so. 
​
Hours:
Permanently closed 

Tours and Activities in Pingtung:
There are many activities available in Pingtung, such as snorkeling, diving, SUPing, surfing, submarine riding, and river tracing. 
You can find more tours of Kenting on Klook here or KKday here. 

Accommodation:
Looking for a hotel? Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here. We recommend booking through Agoda here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation in Taiwan.
I have stayed at many hostels and hotels in Kenting, and even almost bought a house here. Some places that I have stayed at and can recommend are Nanwan Kiki (book on Agoda here, Booking.com here), a B&B next to Nanwan Bay, Kenting's most popular Beach. There are also a few decent hotels near Kenting Street Night Market like Kenting Star Inn 888 (book on Agoda here, Klook here, Hotels.com here, Expedia here, or Booking.com here), or Kenting Dajianshan Hotel (book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, Hotels.com here, or Expedia here). You will notice that none of these hotels are five star resorts (I do not come to Kenting to waste my time at a resort, but you can still search Agoda, Booking.com, Hotels.com, or Expedia for those) but they are in my opinion the above have the best value for the money. 

How to get there:
By Car/Scooter: Take Provincial Highway 1 south to the bottom of Taiwan until you reach Hengchun. The airport is on the right just before you enter the city. 
Looking for scooter rental in Pingtung? Click here or here to search for options.
You can also check out our scooter rental guide here. 
If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search Qeeq here, Klook here, or  KKday here. You can also check out our car rental guide here.  ​
By Bus: You can reach Mudan from Pingtung Bus 1773, but it will take over three hours. You can book tickets to Kaohsiung via high speed rail (HSR)  on Klook here or KKDay here, or book tickets via the normal train (TRA)  on Klook here. You can book tickets to travel to Pingtung via inter-city bus on Klook here. 
By Bicycle: Cycling is the best way to enjoy Taiwan's landscapes if you have the time and energy. Looking for bicycle rentals in Taiwan? You can search on KKday here and search for tours on Klook here. You can also check out our Taiwan cycling guide here. 

Map:
Please see below:

Our Journey:

As a frequent visitor to Hengchun, (and nearly a homeowner here), I have often passed Hengchun Airport and wondered what it was doing there. It impedes the flow of traffic and makes it harder to travel say to the aquarium. One day I decided to visit the airport just to see what was there. 

Apparently there is a bike maintenance stop here that is open from 9 AM to 5 PM.

Front view of the Hengchun Airport. It is very similary to the ariports in Makung, Kinmen, Matsu, Green Island, and Orchid Island. 

​Don't forget there are many more activities in Pingtung such as such as snorkeling, diving, SUPing, surfing, submarine riding, and river tracing. 
You can find more tours of Kenting on Klook here or KKday here. 

You can check out our full guide to Pingtung here. 

You can also check out our full travel guide to Taiwan here. ​

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