U-Tapao International Airport
U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya International Airport, also spelled Utapao and U-Taphao, is a dual-use civil–military public international airport serving the cities of Rayong and Pattaya in Eastern Thailand in the Ban Chang district of Rayong province. 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.
History
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. Construction began on 15 October 1965 and was completed on 2 June 1966. U-Tapao was the primary Southeast Asian airfield for USAF B-52 bombers, called "Bee-hasip-sawng" by the local Thais. 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.Accidents and incidents
- On 28 October 1977, a Douglas DC-3 of Vietnam Airlines en route from Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Ho Chi Minh City, to Duong Dong Airport, Phu Quoc, Vietnam, was hijacked and diverted to U-Tapao Air Base to refuel. Two Vietnamese officials on the aircraft were killed in the hijacking.
- In 2008, with the temporary closure of Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports in late November 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.
Concessions
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 and DFS Group will manage retail shops and services, mainly food and beverage, also for 10 years.Location and transport
U-Tapao Airport near Sattahip on the Gulf of Thailand, about south of Pattaya's Walking Street, is south of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport and south of Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport.- Bus
- * From Suvarnabhumi Airport Level-1 near Gate-8, buses are available to Pattaya's North Pattaya Bus Terminal and the Pattaya Jomtien Bus Station.
- * From Don Mueang Airport's first-floor of terminal from platform 4-5, buses are available to Pattaya taking 30 minutes travel time with drop off points in Pattaya at North Pattaya Junction, Central Pattaya Junction, South Pattaya Junction, and Thepprasit Junction.
- Highway:
- * Motorway 7 connects Pattaya to Bangkok.
- Rail
- * U Tapao Airport will be directly connected to the Suvarnabhumi Airport and Don Mueang International Airport, both in Bangkok, via the under-construction Don Mueang–Suvarnabhumi–U-Tapao high-speed railway linking Thailand's top 3 busiest airports.
Future: airport expansion plan
Expansion plan was envisaged in 2018, project financing for the 6 phase development plan with annual passenger capacity of 60 million was approved in 2022, and partial implementation of phase-1 commenced in November 2025 with commencement of construction of the second runway.Since Bangkok's two international airports are operating beyond capacity, the government envisaged to expand U-Tapao into a third major airport of Thailand. Consequently, U Tapao Terminal 2 was officially opened in February 2019. The 2022 Thai Government approved 6 phase expansion plan for U-Tapao Airport, envisages its annual passenger capacity to 60 million with runway expansions, several new and better connectivity to the Eastern Economic Corridor. In 2025, the partial implementation of phase-1 of U Tapao Airport expansion plan was scaled down from 6 million to 3 million passengers per year due to the delay in construction of Don Mueang–Suvarnabhumi–U-Tapao high-speed railway, and the full phase-1 with 6 million passenger capacity will be implemented once the 80% of High Speed Rail passenger numbers target is achieved.