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Udon Thani International Airport ท่าอากาศยานอุดรธานี
IATA: UTH ICAO: VTUD
Summary
Airport type	Public / military
Owner	Royal Thai Air Force
Operator	Department of Airports
Serves	Udon Thani
Location	Nong Khon Kwang, Mueang, Udon Thani, Thailand
Opened	1932; 92 years ago (1932)
Elevation AMSL	579 ft / 176 m
Coordinates	17°23′11″N 102°47′18″E / 17.38639°N 102.78833°E / 17.38639; 102.78833
Website	https://minisite.airports.go.th/udonthani/home
Maps
UTH/VTUDLocation of airport in Thailand
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 12/30 3,048 10,000 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Total passengers 1,898,547 6.80%% Aircraft movements 12,859 1.99% Freight (tonnes) 409.69 22.71%
Sources: Department of Airports

Udon Thani International Airport (IATA: UTH, ICAO: VTUD) is in the Nong Khon Kwang subdistrict, Mueang Udon Thani district, Udon Thani province in northeastern Thailand. It is approximately 450 kilometres (280 mi) northeast of Bangkok. It currently has domestic flights to and from Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang), Chiang Mai (on Nok Air), Hat Yai (on Thai Lion Air), Phuket (on Thai AirAsia), Rayong (on Thai AirAsia), and Ubon Ratchathani (on Nok Air). In 2006, the airport had 677,411 passenger movements and 1,558 MT cargo movements. In 2013, the airport handled 1,325,305 passengers. In 2015, it handled 2,213,689 passengers and 3,678 tonnes of freight. It has been managed by the Department of Airports (DOA).

Udon Thani Airport is the DOA's moneymaker, with profits reaching 100 million baht a year. This airport was scheduled to be transferred to Airports of Thailand PCL (AOT) in the first half of 2023.

History

During the Vietnam War the facility was known as Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, serving as a front-line base of the United States Air Force and was the Asian headquarters for Air America.

On 8 February 2006, an international group of skydivers from 31 countries called the "World Team" set a world record for the largest freefall formation, a 400-way, over the Udon Thani airport.

Airlines and destinations

Military use

As well as being a commercial facility, Udon Thani International Airport is also an active Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) base, the home of Wing 23, 2nd Air Division Air Combat Command. The 231 Squadron flies 17 (out of 18 delivered) Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet airplanes acquired second-hand from the German Air Force and delivered in 2001. The squadron previously flew F-5A/RF-5A/F-5B Freedom Fighter airplanes.

Plans

Airports of Thailand (AOT) budgeted 220 billion baht in 2018 for the creation of two new airports and the expansion of four existing airports owned by the Department of Airports. Udon Thani is one of the four slated for expansion and AOT management. AOT intends to build Chiang Mai 2 in Lamphun Province and Phuket Airport 2 in Phang Nga Province. The three other existing airports to be managed by AOT are Chumphon Airport, Sakon Nakhon Airport, and Tak Airport.

References

1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-18. Retrieved 2015-01-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2016-04-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. "AoT to take control of four airports". Bangkok Post. 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
4. เคาะ AOT, February 9, 2023
5. "Record". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
6. "Thai AirAsia 1Q25 Domestic Network Additions".
7. "Thai Airways International NW23 Preliminary Domestic Network – 27AUG23". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
8. Sritama, Suchat (29 July 2018). "Bursting the Tourism Bubble". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 4 August 2018.

External links

Media related to Udon Thani International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
Udon Thani travel guide from Wikivoyage

• Udon Thani International Airport homepage

• Airports in Thailand
• Buildings and structures in Udon Thani province
• Airports established in 1932