Surat Thani International Airport (IATA: URT, ICAO: VTSB) is an international airport in Hua Toei subdistrict, Phunphin district, Surat Thani province in Southern Thailand. The airport, 21 kilometres west of downtown Surat Thani, is also home to the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) squadrons. It has a single paved runway and is the tenth-busiest airport in Thailand in terms of passengers, handling more than two million passengers annually.
Surat Thani International Airport ท่าอากาศยานสุราษฎร์ธานี | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public / Military | ||||||||||
| Owner | Royal Thai Air Force | ||||||||||
| Operator | Department of Airports | ||||||||||
| Serves | Surat Thani | ||||||||||
| Location | Hua Toei, Phunphin, Surat Thani, Thailand | ||||||||||
| Opened | 15 April 1981 | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 6.1 m / 20 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 09°07′57″N 99°08′08″E / 9.13250°N 99.13556°E | ||||||||||
| Website | minisite | ||||||||||
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  URT Location of airport in Thailand | |||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Helipads | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||
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Sources: Department of Airports | |||||||||||
Airlines and destinations
edit| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Nok Air | Bangkok–Don Mueang |
| Thai AirAsia | Bangkok–Don Mueang, Chiang Mai |
| Thai Lion Air | Bangkok–Don Mueang Charter: Taipei–Taoyuan[1] |
| Thai Summer Airways | Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Pattaya (both begin 17 December 2024) |
| Thai VietJet Air | Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi |
Statistics
editPassengers
edit| Year | Total passengers | Change | Total flights | Total cargo (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 180,621 | 1,531 | 4,646.35 | |
| 2002 | 163,321 |  9.58%
|
1,510 | 2,472.06 |
| 2003 | 162,661 | 0.40%
|
1,518 | 2,070.01 |
| 2004 | 202,250 |  24.34%
|
1,629 | 1,858.76 |
| 2005 | 206,342 | 2.02%
|
1,793 | 1,698.92 |
| 2006 | 291,094 | 41.07%
|
2,812 | 1,412.82 |
| 2007 | 359,467 | 23.49%
|
3,316 | 1,061.95 |
| 2008 | 344,748 | 4.09%
|
2,904 | 1,464.76 |
| 2009 | 394,096 | 14.31%
|
3,266 | 1,301.99 |
| 2010 | 505,776 | 28.34%
|
4,460 | 1,152.31 |
| 2011 | 595,184 | 17.68%
|
5,251 | 1,369.13 |
| 2012 | 816,484 | 37.18%
|
6,308 | 1,541.00 |
| 2013 | 1,080,508 | 32.34%
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8,457 | 1,568.07 |
| 2014 | 1,319,660 | 22.13%
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10,175 | 1,571.29 |
| 2015 | 1,856,315 | 40.67%
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13,257 | 1,601.26 |
| 2016 | 2,032,042 | 9.47%
|
13,813 | 1,575.77 |
| 2017 | 2,247,344 | 10.60%
|
15,396 | 1,036.80 |
| 2018 | 2,108,289 | 6.19%
|
14,000 | 1,144.99 |
| 2019 | 1,864,997 | 11.54%
|
12,340 | 829.87 |
History
edit
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Donnok airport
editSurat Thani Airport's predecessor is known locally as Donnok Airport (Thai: สนามบินดอนนก). It is located in Makham Tia subdistrict, Mueang Surat Thani district, around 3 km (1.9 mi) away from Surat Thani City, and has a single, gravel paved runway, 800 meters in length.[2] Later, the runway was expanded by the Royal Thai Air Force to 1,000 metres, which was still only capable of handling small planes, such as the Douglas DC-3.[2]
The current airport
editDue to the original airport's close proximity to Surat Thani, The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) planned a new airport away from the city. A former airfield used in World War II by the military was chosen as the site for the new airport. After the construction site was chosen, a plan for the airfield's development was proposed. However, in 1973, the government suspended the development project and used the funds to support Phuket International Airport's operations instead.[2]
In 1975, many residents in Surat Thani called for the project's reconsideration. The Ministry of Defence and CAAT showed interest in the project and the airfield's development began in 1978. The airport was officially opened on 15 April 1981. It had a single runway, 2,500 metres in length. In 1993, the runway was expanded to support larger commercial flights and military operations.[2]
Future upgrades and developments
editThe Department of Airports announced a 1.7 billion Baht plan to upgrade the airport.[3] Details of the project are as following:
- The airport's apron will be expanded to increase its capacity up to 11 Boeing 737s at a time.[3]
- The electrical system and wires will be moved underground.
- The airport terminal will be expanded to accommodate up to 3.6 million passengers a year.[4] The car park will also be expanded to handle up to 700 cars at a time.[3]
- The runway will be upgraded to increase its strength.[3]
- Construction of the new transportation center to handle more passengers.[3]
Military use
editAs well as being a commercial facility, Surat Thani Airport is an active RTAF base, the home of 4th Air Division/7th Wing Air Combat Command. 701 Squadron, "Shark", flies twelve SAAB JAS-39 C/D Gripen fighter aircraft. 702 Squadron operates two airborne early warning (AEW) and two transport SAAB SF340 airplanes. A further two SF340s are on order.[5][6]
Accidents and incidents
editOn 11 December 1998, Thai Airways International Flight 261, an Airbus A310-200 (HS-TIA, Phitsanulok), bound for Surat Thani from Bangkok, was making its third landing attempt in heavy rain when it crashed into a rice paddy about 3 km (1.9 mi) from the airport; 101 of the 146 passengers and crew aboard were killed.
References
edit- ^ "THAI LION AIR APRIL 2024 TAIWAN CHARTERS". AeroRoutes. 28 February 2024.
- ^ a b c d Surat Thani International Airport (21 November 2013). "ประวัติความเป็นมา" [History] (in Thai). Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "กรมท่าอากาศยาน อัดฉีด 1.7 พันล้านบาท ขยายสนามบินสุราษฎร์ธานี" [Department of Airports injects 1.7 billion baht to expand Surat Thani Airport]. Khaosod Online (in Thai). 18 January 2021. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ Hongtong, Thodsapol (6 August 2019). "Three airports to be upgraded". Bangkok Post.
- ^ "ประวัติกองบิน 7" [History of Wing 7] (in Thai). Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ "กองทัพอากาศจัดงานครบรอบ 20 ปี วันสถาปนา กองบิน 7 วันที่ 15" [The Air Force held a ceremony to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Wing 7 on the 15th.]. ryt9.com (in Thai). 7 February 2002. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
External links
edit
Surat Thani travel guide from Wikivoyage