VTBU
U-Tapao International Airport
MVFR
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Name
U-Tapao International Airport
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ICAO / IATA / GPS
VTBU / UTP / VTBU
- Type
- Restriction
- Region
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Timezone
9:54 am (ICT)
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Municipality
Rayong
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Coordinates
12° 40′ 47″ N 101° 0′ 17″ E
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Elevation
59 ft (18 m MSL)
About U-Tapao International Airport
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.
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. 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, U-Tapao in particular has been eyed as an alternate international gateway due to its relative proximity to the capital.