U-Tapao Airport

U-Tapao – Rayong – Pattaya International Airport ; สนาม บิน นานาชาติ อู่ ตะเภา ระยอง พัทยา
Characteristics
ICAO code	VTBU
IATA code	UTP
Coordinates	12 ° 40 '48 " N , 101 ° 0' 18" E Coordinates: 12 ° 40 '48 " N , 101 ° 0' 18" E
Height above MSL	18 m (59 ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center	40 km west of Rayong , ; 40 km south of Pattaya
Street	Thanon Sukhumvit
Basic data
opening	1965
operator	Thai Navy
Terminals	1
Start-and runway
18/36	3505 m × 60 m asphalt

The airport U-Tapao – Rayong – Pattaya ( Thai สนาม บิน นานาชาติ อู่ ตะเภา ระยอง พัทยา , RTGS Sanam Bin Nanachat U Taphao Rayong Phatthaya , English U-Tapao – Rayong – Pattaya International Airport ; IATA code : UTP, ICAO code : VTBU ) is a civil airport and military airfield of the Thai Navy (RTN) in the Rayong Province in central Thailand ( Eastern Thailand according to the 6-region model). It serves the internationally known seaside resort of Pattaya .

history

Construction of the airport began in 1961 after the Thai Navy reviewed and approved the financial aspects. It was completed almost 4 years later in 1965.

During the second Indochina War , U-Tapao was used by the Thai Navy as well as by the United States' armed forces as a base for operations with the KC-135 tanker aircraft (from 1966) and the B-52 long-range bomber (from 1967).

The first civil airline to use the airport to this day is Bangkok Airways . There were also flights to Don Mueang Airport .

location

U-Tapao Airport is located approximately 40 kilometers west of Rayong in the district of Amphoe Ban Chang in Rayong Province. After Pattaya , there are also about 40 kilometers.

General

The airport is regularly used for scheduled flights to Phuket and Ko Samui , it is also used as a cargo airport and is served by charter planes to relieve Bangkok Airport . Since March 2015 it has served as the second hub of the regional airline Kan Air , which offers connections to several airports within Thailand, including Bangkok-Don Mueang and Chiang Mai .

The airport has a runway, a taxiway, a 43 hectare apron and a terminal. The apron offers parking space for 49 aircraft. The terminal has a total area of 2,610 m² and can handle around 400 passengers per hour. The airport is managed by Rear Admiral Sorracha Sornpratum and his Deputy Rear Admiral Surapong Ayasanond.

In 2013 the airport was used by 127,218 passengers, in 2012 the figure was 152,860.

Technical Equipment

ILS cat I, VOR / DME , NDB , TACAN , PAPI

Alternate airport

U-Tapao Airport is the official alternative airport for Bangkok.

When the two airports in Bangkok were occupied by demonstrators from the People's Alliance for Democracy (“yellow shirts”) at the end of 2008 , a number of international flights were handled by U-Tapao as an alternative. In view of the inadequate handling facilities, this led to chaos.

Airlines and flight connections

Bangkok Airways - Ko Samui , Phuket
China Southern - Shanghai Pudong
Kan Air - Bangkok-Don Mueang , Chiang Mai , Khon Kaen , Ubon Ratchathani , Udon Thani
R Airlines - Tai Yuan, Wuhan,
Thai Airasia - Chiangmai, Udon, Hat Yai, Nanchang, Nanning, Macau, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hangzhou, Phuket
Thai Airasia X - Changchun, Hohhot, Harbin
various international charter connections

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Profile of U-Tapao Airport ( Memento from May 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 5.6 MB)
↑ Kan Air flies from U-Tapao , Der Farang, March 18, 2015.

Web links

Website of U-Tapao Pattaya International Airport (English)
Utapao Air Base from globalsecurity.org (English)
Bangkok Airways website (English)
Website of Kan Air (English)

[utpProfil-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Profile of U-Tapao Airport ( Memento from May 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 5.6 MB)

[2] Kan Air flies from U-Tapao , Der Farang, March 18, 2015.