U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya International Airport
U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya International Airport
U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya International Airport (IATA: UTP, ICAO: VTBU), 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.
Location
12.680°N, 101.005°E · 13 m s. n. m. (42 ft)
General data
Runways · 1
Lengths and surfaces from the public OurAirports register; open runways only.
Radio frequencies · 3
Tower
Ground
Approach
Reference frequencies for enthusiasts, from OurAirports (community database, public domain), checked on Oct 16, 2026. They may be outdated or incomplete and do not replace the AIP or current charts: not for navigation. In Europe the published frequency may be an 8.33 kHz channel (e.g., 118.505 for 118.500). In MHz.
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" (B-52) 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 (Central Group) and DFS Group will manage retail shops and services, mainly food and beverage, also for 10 years.
Airlines operating here · 7
Airlines using it as a main base (hub)
Other airlines with direct routes
Airlines with current passenger routes from here, according to Wikipedia route tables cross-checked from both ends (October 2026).
Photo: Gleb Osokin - Russian AviaPhoto Team · CC BY-SA 3.0 · view original
Data from OurAirports (public domain) · destinations and airlines from Wikipedia route tables (CC BY-SA, 2026), unless another source is given · profile and photo from Wikidata/Wikimedia Commons (CC0 / CC) · summary and history from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Cite
To cite this page in academic work, an article or Wikipedia, choose the style and copy the reference. The access date is today.
This page was last updated on October 15, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya International Airport (UTP). Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/UTP
MLA
“U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya International Airport (UTP).” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/airport/UTP. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya International Airport (UTP).” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/UTP.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya International Airport (UTP). Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/UTP (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_airport_utp,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya International Airport (UTP)}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-15},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/UTP},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/UTP}},
urldate = {2026-10-17},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-17}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/UTP |title=U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya International Airport (UTP) |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-17 |language=en}}