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U Tapao Airport To Transform Into A Regional Hub
17th Dec 2014
Tourism industry in Thailand has been growing rapidly that it outpaces its infrastructures. The country's six major airports, for instance, have been operating beyond their capacity despite the constant upgrade the government has undertaken in recent years.
Its minor airports are also posting positive growth that they, too, will soon be transformed into international gateways as well to accommodate international traffic.
U-Tapao, for instance, will be expanded to handle international traffic as proposed by Ministry of Transport.
Currently, the airport only handles charter international flights to and from China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, and Russia.
The airport serves dual purpose, both as a civil and military facility.
In a recent public announcement, Thailand's Deputy Transport Minister, Woradej Harnprasert, said that their proposal is supported by the Department of Civil Aviation as well as the Royal Navy Air Division. He further disclosed that they will soon submit their proposal to Transport Minister ACM Prajin Jantong for approval.
He revealed that the Minister along with the Department of Civil Aviation officials paid a visit to the airport and discussed about the proposed upgrade.
The airport will soon have a new passenger terminal building which is currently under construction with a design capacity to handle 3 million passengers annually.
Along with the current terminal building construction, the addition of three boarding bridges and another runway are also part of the ongoing improvement. The second runway will complement the existing 3,505-meter runway which is touted to be the country's longest.
U-Tapao was utilized as an alternative international gateway when operations at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports were limited to a few flights at a time after angry protesters made it impossible for smooth travel to and from the two airports.
The airport is about 120 kilometers from Suvarnabhumi and only 30 kilometers south of Pattaya, the most popular resort destination in Thailand.
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