U-Tapao airport to be upgraded

PATTAYA Thailand’s Ministry of Transport says it will propose a massive upgrade for U-Tapao International Airport to turn it into a regional hub for commercial airlines and boost passenger traffic to 3 million a year.
The airport is owned and managed by the Royal Thai Navy, but handles just a few domestic flights operated by Bangkok Airways and seasonal charter flights from Russia.
The ministry deputy permanent secretary, Woradej Harnprasert, said the Department of Civil Aviation and Royal Thai Navy Air Division supported the plan and would submit it for approval to the Transport Minister ACM Prajin Jantong.
“The ministry and DCA have recently visited the airport and discussed plans with the Royal Thai Navy Air Division…we agreed to upgrade U-Tapao International Airport into a regional hub for commercial airlines in 2015.”
inside no 2He added: “The airport has potential to grow and handle more passengers…a new passenger terminal building is under construction and will expand capacity from just 100,000 passengers to 3 million a year.”
Three passenger boarding bridges and a second 3,500-metre runway are included in the project, he said.
The airport has the longest runway in Thailand, built by the US military for B52 bombing raids during the Vietnam War.
U-Tapao Airport director, Rear Admiral Wasinsan Janthawarin said: “The airport has been contacted by airlines from Taiwan, but most of the flights are from Russia and CIS countries.”
inside no 2.1There is talk of creating a marketing plan for eastern seaboard resorts that include Rayong, Samet Island and Pattaya. The objective is to take pressure off Suvanabhumi Airport, about 90 km north of Pattaya and encourage airlines flying charters to use U-Tapao, which is just 30 km south of Pattaya.
This is a decades old story theme dating back to the 1980s when airlines did consider opening services to U-Tapao to channel holiday traffic from Hong Kong and Singapore to resorts on the eastern seaboard that stretches a good 200 km from U-Tapao, to beach resorts at Rayong, the holiday island of Samet, Chanthaburi and Trat provinces.
Ministry of Transport also has a vague plan to extend the Airport Rail Link service to U-Tapao Airport from Suvarnabhumi Airport, a distance of around 120 km. It gets a mention in the media, but experts dismiss it as idle talk.

sourced:ttrweekly.com