An airport runway in Thailand was closed when a navy plane suffered a landing gear failure.

The Phuket International Airport shut down its main runway after the aircraft's wheels failed to deploy while arriving at around 11:14 am today.

Photos showed the marks left on the tarmac where the Cessna O-2 plane, belonging to the Royal Thai Navy, had skidded.

Authorities said there were no injuries, but 17 flights - seven inbound and 10 outbound - were disrupted.

Rear Admiral Parat Ratanachaiyaphan, spokesman of the Royal Thai Navy, said the aircraft had been on a routine maritime patrol mission to crack down on illegal trafficking when it encountered a problem with its landing gear system, causing it to obstruct the runway.

He said: 'The Navy is urgently moving the aircraft to clear the runway and minimise any impact on the public. We sincerely apologise to the public for the inconvenience caused by the aircraft's landing gear malfunction.'

Phuket Airport said the runway closure was necessary to ensure passenger and flight safety, adding that it is working with relevant agencies to speed up the relocation of aircraft.

The plane was identified as a Type 1 reconnaissance and target-spotting aircraft, which has been in service for over 42 years.