VTBU/UTP U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya International Thailand
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 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 (Removed), servicing that airline's aircraft as well as th... 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 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 (Removed), 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.
U-Tapao lies approximately 90 miles (140 km) southeast of Bangkok, south of Sukhumvit Road at Km. 189, near Sattahip on the Gulf of Thailand, about a 45-minute drive from Pattaya (Thailand's most popular beach resort).
