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U-Tapao International Airport

Coordinates: 12°40′47″N 101°00′18″E / 12.67972°N 101.00500°E / 12.67972; 101.00500
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"U-Tapao" redirects here. For the military use of this facility, see U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield. For other uses, see U Tapao (disambiguation).

U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya International Airport

ท่าอากาศยานอู่ตะเภา ระยอง–พัทยา
Summary
Airport typePublic / military
OwnerRoyal Thai Navy
OperatorDepartment of Airports
Serves
LocationBan Chang district, Rayong province, Thailand
Opened2 June 1966; 58 years ago (1966-06-02)
Operating base for
Elevation AMSL13 m / 42 ft
Coordinates12°40′47″N 101°00′18″E / 12.67972°N 101.00500°E / 12.67972; 101.00500
Websitewww.utapao.com
Maps
Map
UTP/VTBU is located in Rayong Province
UTP/VTBU
UTP/VTBU
Location of airport in Rayong Province
UTP/VTBU is located in Bay of Bangkok
UTP/VTBU
UTP/VTBU
Location of airport in the Bay of Bangkok
UTP/VTBU is located in Thailand
UTP/VTBU
UTP/VTBU
Location of airport in Thailand
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
18/36 3,505 11,500 Asphalt
Statistics (2018)
Passengers[1]1,860,794
Source: DAFIF[2][3]

U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya International Airport (IATA: UTP, ICAO: VTBU), also spelled Utapao and U-Taphao, is a joint civil–military public international airport serving the cities of Rayong and Pattaya in Eastern Thailand. It is in the Ban Chang district of Rayong province.[4][5]

It also serves as the U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, home of the Royal Thai Navy First Air Wing. U-Tapao is the home of a large Thai Airways maintenance facility, servicing that airline's aircraft as well as those of other customers.[6] Due to the blockade of Bangkok's airports by opposition protesters, U-Tapao briefly became the main air gateway to Thailand between 26 November and 5 December 2008. As both of Bangkok's international airports essential to the country's tourist boom are operating beyond capacity as of 2015,[7][8] U-Tapao in particular has been eyed as an alternate international gateway due to its relative proximity to the capital.

Location

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U-Tapao lies approximately 90 miles (140 km) southeast of Bangkok, south of Sukhumvit Road at Km. 189, near Sattahip on the Gulf of Thailand, about a 45-minute drive from Pattaya (Thailand's most popular beach resort).

History

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Vietnam War

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Main article: U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield § American use of U-Tapao during the Vietnam War

U-Tapao was built by the United States to accommodate B-52 bombers for missions in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia during the Vietnam War.[9] Construction began on 15 October 1965 and was completed on 2 June 1966.[10] U-Tapao was the primary Southeast Asian airfield for USAF B-52 bombers, called "Bee-hasip-sawng" (B-52) by the local Thais.[11] U-Tapao was a front-line base along with the other US bases at Korat, Udon, Ubon, Nakhon Phanom, and Takhli. The USAF B-52s made regular sorties over North Vietnam and North Vietnamese-controlled areas in Laos, carrying an average of 108 500-pound and 750-pound bombs per mission. U-Tapao was a regular stop on Bob Hope's Christmas shows for the troops.[12]

November 2008 protests in Bangkok

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With the temporary closure of Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports in late November 2008 because they had been occupied by anti-government protestors, U-Tapao became for a time Thailand's main supplementary international gateway. Many airlines arranged special flights to and from U-Tapao to ferry international passengers stranded by the closure of the Suvarnabhumi Airport.[13][14][15][16][17] Several governments including Italy, Macau and Spain also sent chartered flights to evacuate residents.[citation needed]

As many as 100,000 passengers were stranded in Thailand until early December. Although its runway can accommodate large aircraft, U-Tapao's terminals are not designed to handle more than a few flights a day. Travellers were subject to many hardships, and as the security was not up-to-date, some US-bound flights were diverted to Japan and their passengers required to go through a supplementary security check before continuing.[15]

Airport expansion

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As Bangkok's two international airports are operating beyond capacity, the government intends to turn U-Tapao into a third major destination for airlines. A new second terminal will increase airport capacity from 800,000 to three million persons per year. Terminal 2 was partially opened in November 2018 and was officially opened in February 2019.[18]

There were also 41 direct flights landing from China weekly.[19] Airport director, Rear Admiral Worapol Tongpricha, said the 620 million baht terminal is the start of a three-year, first-phase development. In the second phase, the government will boost the capacity further to 15 million passengers per year.[20]

In November 2022, the Thai Government approved another expansion plan for U-Tapao, to increase its capacity to 60 million passengers per year. It is planned to add a new runway, taxiways and facilities to increase Pattaya's and Bangkok's air passenger capacity, and also boost connections to the Eastern Economic Corridor.[21]

Concessions

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In late 2018, King Power was awarded a ten-year contract to operate U-Tapao duty-free shops. A partnership between Thai retailer Central Department Store Company (Central Group) and DFS Group will manage retail shops and services, mainly food and beverage, also for 10 years.[22]

Airlines and destinations

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AirlinesDestinations
AirAsia Kuala Lumpur–International[23]
Bangkok Airways Koh Samui, Phuket
Flydubai Dubai–International
Thai Lion Air Chiang Mai
Azur Air Seasonal charter: Irkutsk,[24] Krasnoyarsk-International,[24] Moscow-Vnukovo,[24] Novosibirsk,[24] Samara,[24] Tomsk,[25] Yekaterinburg,[24] Novokuznetsk, Vladivostok, Ufa, Khabarovsk, Barnaul, Blagoveshchensk
SCAT Airlines Seasonal charter: Almaty, Astana
Thai Summer Airways Roi Et (begins 28 November 2024), Surat Thani (begins 17 December 2024)

Accidents and incidents

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References

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  1. ^ "Passenger statistics for 2015–2019" (PDF). U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport (in Thai).
  2. ^ "Airport information for VTBU". World Aero Data. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) Data current as of October 2006. Source: DAFIF.
  3. ^ Airport information for UTP at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
  4. ^ "U Tapao-Pattaya International Airport" (PDF). U Tapao Airport Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  5. ^ "Home". U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Thai Airways International: Technical Department --- U-Tapao Second Maintenance Center ---". www.thaitechnical.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008.
  7. ^ "New terminal to boost U-Tapao Airport".
  8. ^ "Don Mueang is world's busiest LCC". The Nation. 15 September 2015.
  9. ^ Janssen, Peter (6 June 2017). "Military airbase set for commercial take-off in Thailand". Asia Times. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  10. ^ "History". U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  11. ^ Ellis, John. "U-Tapao Air Base" (Historical photos). Cohojohn.tripod.com. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  12. ^ "Bob Hope Visit". Thailand Dog Handlers. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  13. ^ "ANA International Flight Status". Fli.ana.co.jp.
  14. ^ "Cathay Pacific". Cathay Pacific.
  15. ^ a b "Latest update on Bangkok, Utapao and Europe flights". EVA Airways. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  16. ^ "THAI Operates 34 Special Inbound and Outbound Flights on 2 December 2008". THAI. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  17. ^ Page 6, South China Morning Post, 30 November 2008.[not specific enough to verify]
  18. ^ "Terminal 2 at U-Tapao airport to be fully opened in February". The Nation. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  19. ^ "Home". utapao.com.
  20. ^ "U-Tapao airport takes new leap". Bangkok Post. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  21. ^ Mail, Pattaya (6 November 2022). "Massive expansion approved for U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Airport". Pattaya Mail. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  22. ^ Moodie, Martin (21 November 2018). "King Power wins U-Tapao Airport duty free contract; Central Group/DFS alliance gains duty paid and services". The Moodie Davitt Report. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  23. ^ "AirAsia Resumes Kuala Lumpur – Utapao Service in June 2024". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  24. ^ a b c d e f "AZUR Air Expands Phuket Network in NW23". AeroRoutes. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  25. ^ "Авиакомпания AZUR air открывает прямые рейсы из Томска в Паттайю". tomskairport.ru. ООО «Аэропорт ТОМСК». Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  26. ^ "Hijacking description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
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