Runways at VLVT
According to OurAirports data (compiled from AIP and FAA sources), Wattay International Airport (Vientiane) has one runway: 13/31 - 3,000 m long (9,843 ft), 45 m wide, asphalt surface.
Wattay International Airport (Vientiane) (VLVT / VTE)
Laos · elevation 564 ft AMSL
· 17.9851, 102.5667
About Wattay International Airport (Vientiane)
Wattay International Airport (Vientiane) is an airport with the ICAO code VLVT and the IATA code VTE. Country: Laos. Nearest settlement listed in the database: Vientiane. OurAirports classifies it as a large airport. Its ICAO code starts with the VL prefix, which marks airports in Laos. The four-letter code VLVT is used in flight operations and weather reports, while the three-letter IATA code VTE is used for ticketing and baggage handling. The airport reference point sits at 17°59'06"N, 102°34'00"E, at an elevation of 564 ft (172 m) above sea level. The applicable time zone is Asia/Vientiane.
Satellite view of VLVT
Aerial imagery showing the runway and apron layout - the zoom is matched to the longest runway.
Runways of VLVT
| Threshold | Course | Length | Width | Surface |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 130° | 3,000 m (9,843 ft) | 45 m (148 ft) | asphalt |
| 31 | 310° |
The course is derived from the runway designator (number × 10), not from a survey - the actual magnetic bearing can differ by a few degrees.
Declared distances (TORA, TODA, ASDA, LDA) are published in the national AIP - they are not part of this table.
Climate at Wattay International Airport (Vientiane) - statistics from METAR reports
What the METAR reports from VLVT for 2023-2025 show - counted hour by hour.
We computed these statistics from 19,250 METAR reports issued by VLVT in 2023-2025. VFR conditions prevailed 11% of the time, MVFR 84% and IFR or LIFR 5%. Best month for VFR flying: October (24% of hours VFR). Most IFR and LIFR hours: January (10%).
Through the day, IFR or LIFR conditions are most frequent around 15:00 UTC (24% of reports at that hour) and least frequent around 06:00 UTC (<1%).
Fog practically did not occur here. Thunderstorms (TS) occurred on 55 days a year on average, and snowfall practically never.
The wind most often blows from E (90°) - 10% of reports. Calm (0 kt) made up 13% of reports, and gusts of 25 kt or more appeared in 0%. Warmest month: April (average high 36.9 °C); coldest: January (average low 15.4 °C).
Year
Selected period in numbers: 2023-2025
- VFR hours
- 11%
- IFR/LIFR hours
- 5%
- Avg high
- 32.1 °C
- Avg low
- 22.0 °C
- Fog days
- 0.3
- Thunderstorm days
- 55
- Snow days
- 0
- Prevailing wind
- E · 10%
- Gusts ≥ 25 kt
- 0%
Day counts are for the selected period (for all years - the yearly average).
- VFR 11%
- MVFR 84%
- IFR 5%
- LIFR <1%
The top of each bar is the average daily high, the bottom the average daily low (usually around dawn), in °C.
Wind rose
- 1-10 kt
- 11-20 kt
- over 20 kt
- calm: 13%
Most often: E - 10% of reports. Each petal shows the direction the wind blows from (as in METAR) - the longer it is, the more often. Colour shows wind speed.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high °C | Avg low °C | VFR | IFR/LIFR | Fog days | Thunderstorm days | Snow days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28.1 | 15.4 | 3% | 10% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| February | 31.5 | 18.5 | 2% | 9% | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| March | 33.3 | 21.0 | 0% | 6% | 0 | 1.4 | 0 |
| April | 36.9 | 24.4 | 1% | 5% | 0 | 3.4 | 0 |
| May | 34.7 | 25.1 | 8% | 6% | 0 | 7.3 | 0 |
| June | 32.8 | 25.0 | 14% | 6% | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| July | 32.1 | 24.9 | 22% | 4% | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| August | 31.8 | 24.6 | 19% | 5% | 0 | 7.9 | 0 |
| September | 31.6 | 24.3 | 21% | 6% | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| October | 32.3 | 23.5 | 24% | 3% | 0 | 2.7 | 0 |
| November | 30.5 | 19.7 | 9% | 3% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| December | 29.5 | 17.5 | 6% | 3% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Temperatures are averages of daily highs and lows. Day counts are the average per month over the period.
Runway headings and wind
The thresholds are oriented as follows: 13/31 on 130° and 310° magnetic. A threshold designator is its magnetic heading divided by ten (ICAO Annex 14), so the runway axis can be read straight off the numbers.
For the 13/31 axis, wind from the south-west (around 220°) or from the north-east (around 40°) blows perpendicular to the runway and produces the largest crosswind component. Wind from around 130° or 310° acts along the runway, as a headwind or a tailwind. The decoder on this page computes those components automatically from the current METAR.
METAR and TAF for VLVT
Weather reports for Wattay International Airport (Vientiane) are published under the ICAO code VLVT. A METAR is an observation of current conditions, usually issued every 30 or 60 minutes; a TAF is a forecast for the airport area, typically covering 9 to 30 hours.
The decoder breaks the VLVT report down into its parts: wind direction and speed including gusts and variability, visibility (including CAVOK and directional minimum visibility), weather phenomena by WMO code, cloud layers with their bases, temperature and dew point, QNH pressure, and the resulting flight category - VFR, MVFR, IFR or LIFR - using FAA thresholds.
Not every airport issues its own reports; many smaller airfields have no weather station. If no current data is available for VLVT, check the nearby airports listed below.
Reports always use UTC (the Z suffix). The Asia/Vientiane zone stays at GMT+07:00 year-round, so converting to local time is always the same shift.
The closest airports in the database, measured in a straight line from the reference point, are Udon Thani International Airport (VTUD, 71 km), Udorn Air Base (Ban Mak Khaen) (VTED, 71 km), Loei Airport (VTUL, 108 km). When no report is available for VLVT, they usually give the best approximation of conditions in the area.
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Looking for a report from a specific day?
The METAR archive for VLVT goes back to 01/01/1949. Pick a date and see every observation from that day.
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