View source for Surat Thani International Airport

{{short description|Airport in southern Thailand}}
{{about|the airport in Thailand|the airport in India|Surat Airport}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox airport
| name                   = {{nowrap|Surat Thani International Airport}}
| nativename             = {{lang|th|ท่าอากาศยานสุราษฎร์ธานี}}
| nativename-a           = 
| nativename-r           = 
| image                  = Surat_Thani_Airport_(2022).jpg
| image-width            = 300
| IATA                   = URT
| ICAO                   = VTSB
| pushpin_map            = Thailand
| pushpin_map_caption    = Location of airport in Thailand
| mapframe               = yes
| image_map              = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|type=shape|stroke-width=2|stroke-color=#000000|zoom=12|frame-latitude=9.1325|frame-longitude=99.135556}}
| pushpin_label          = URT
| pushpin_label_position = right
| type                   = Public / Military
| owner                  = [[Royal Thai Air Force]]
| operator               = [[Department of Airports (Thailand)|Department of Airports]]
| city-served            = [[Surat Thani]]
| location               = Tambon Hua Toei, [[Phunphin district|Amphoe Phunphin]], [[Surat Thani province|Surat Thani]], [[Thailand]]
| opened                 = {{start date and age|1981|04|15|df=yes}}
| elevation-f            = 20
| elevation-m            = 6.1
| coordinates            = {{coord|09|07|57|N|99|08|08|E|type:airport|display=inline,title}}
| website                = {{URL|minisite.airports.go.th/suratthani}}
| metric-elev            = yes
| metric-rwy             = yes
| r1-number              = 04/22
| r1-length-f            = 9,843
| r1-length-m            = 3,000
| r1-surface             = [[Asphalt concrete|Asphalt]]
| stat-year              = 2024
| stat1-header           = Total passengers
| stat1-data             = 1,342,036 {{decrease}}0.79%
| stat2-header           = Aircraft movements
| stat2-data             = 9,407 {{increase}}6.36%
| stat3-header           = Freight (tonnes)
| stat3-data             = 700.53  {{increase}}6.87%
| footnotes              = Sources: [https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNThhZTJkNzYtOWQ1NC00OWEzLTgwNDctMTliYmU0ZTVhYmI4IiwidCI6IjdhOWZmNDg0LWZiMDctNDI3Zi05Y2QyLWJjMjUzOTU1ZGI0YSIsImMiOjEwfQ%3D%3D Department of Airports]
| h1-length-m            = 25
}}

'''Surat Thani International Airport''' {{airport codes|URT|VTSB}} is an [[international airport]] in [[Tambon]] Hua Toei, [[Phunphin district|Amphoe Phunphin]], [[Surat Thani province]] in [[Southern Thailand]]. It is located {{convert|21|km|mi}} west of downtown [[Surat Thani]], and is also home to the [[Royal Thai Air Force]] (RTAF) squadrons. It has a single paved runway and is the [[Busiest airports in Thailand|tenth-busiest airport in Thailand]] in terms of passengers, handling more than two million passengers annually.

==Airlines and destinations==
<!-- Please use only independent sources. The airport and airlines itself are not independent sources. -->
{{Airport destination list
|[[EZY Airlines]]|[[Hua Hin Airport|Hua Hin]]<ref>{{cite web | title=Ezy Airlines Lands at Hua Hin Airport: New Flights to Surat Thani, Phuket, and Hat Yai Start in September 2025 - Thai Nexus | date=11 July 2025 | url=https://thainexus.co.th/en/ezy-airlines-lands-at-hua-hin-airport-new-flights-to-surat-thani-phuket-and-hat-yai-start-in-september-2025/#google_vignette }}</ref>
<!-- -->
| [[Nok Air]] | [[Don Mueang International Airport|Bangkok–Don Mueang]]<ref>{{OAGWorldAug2025Ref|title=Bangkok, Thailand BKK|pages=109-113}}</ref>
<!-- -->
| [[Thai AirAsia]] | [[Don Mueang International Airport|Bangkok–Don Mueang]],<ref>{{OAGWorldAug2025Ref|title=Bangkok, Thailand BKK|pages=109-113}}</ref> [[Suvarnabhumi Airport|Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi]],<ref>{{OAGWorldAug2025Ref|title=Bangkok, Thailand BKK|pages=109-113}}</ref><ref name="FDDom">{{cite web |last1=Liu |first1=Jim |title=Thai AirAsia 3Q25 Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Domestic Network Expansion |url=https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/250327-fd3q25bkk |website=aeroroutes.com |publisher=Aeroroutes |access-date=27 March 2025}}</ref> [[Chiang Mai International Airport|Chiang Mai]]<ref>{{OAGWorldAug2025Ref|title=Chiang Mai, Thailand CNX|pages=274-274}}</ref>
<!-- -->
| [[Thai Lion Air]] | [[Don Mueang International Airport|Bangkok–Don Mueang]]<ref>{{OAGWorldAug2025Ref|title=Bangkok, Thailand BKK|pages=109-113}}</ref>
<!-- -->
| {{nowrap|[[Thai VietJet Air]]}} | [[Suvarnabhumi Airport|Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi]]<ref>{{OAGWorldAug2025Ref|title=Bangkok, Thailand BKK|pages=109-113}}</ref>
<!-- -->
}}

== Statistics ==
=== Passengers ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; font-size:95%"
!Year
!Total passengers
!Change
!Total flights
!Total cargo (tonnes)
|-
!2001
|180,621
|
|1,531
|4,646.35
|-
!2002
|163,321
|{{decrease}} 9.58%
|1,510
|2,472.06
|-
!2003
|162,661
|{{decrease}} 0.40%
|1,518
|2,070.01
|-
!2004
|202,250
|{{increase}} 24.34%
|1,629
|1,858.76
|-
!2005
|206,342
|{{increase}} 2.02%
|1,793
|1,698.92
|-
!2006
|291,094
|{{increase}} 41.07%
|2,812
|1,412.82
|-
!2007
|359,467
|{{increase}} 23.49%
|3,316
|1,061.95
|-
!2008
|344,748
|{{decrease}} 4.09%
|2,904
|1,464.76
|-
!2009
|394,096
|{{increase}} 14.31%
|3,266
|1,301.99
|-
!2010
|505,776
|{{increase}} 28.34%
|4,460
|1,152.31
|-
!2011
|595,184
|{{increase}} 17.68%
|5,251
|1,369.13
|-
!2012
|816,484
|{{increase}} 37.18%
|6,308
|1,541.00
|-
!2013
|1,080,508
|{{increase}} 32.34%
|8,457
|1,568.07
|-
!2014
|1,319,660
|{{increase}} 22.13%
|10,175
|1,571.29
|-
!2015
|1,856,315
|{{increase}} 40.67%
|13,257
|1,601.26
|-
!2016
|2,032,042
|{{increase}} 9.47%
|13,813
|1,575.77
|-
!2017
|2,247,344
|{{increase}} 10.60%
|15,396
|1,036.80
|-
!2018
|2,108,289
|{{decrease}} 6.19%
|14,000
|1,144.99
|-
!2019
|1,864,997
|{{decrease}} 11.54%
|12,340
|829.87
|}

== History ==
[[File:Surat thani airport.jpg|thumb|Surat Thani Airport in 2008]]
[[File:Surat Thani Airport (May 2022).jpg|thumb|300x300px|Surat Thani International Airport in May 2022]]

=== Donnok airport ===
Surat Thani Airport's predecessor is known locally as Donnok Airport ({{Langx|th|สนามบินดอนนก}}). It is located in Makham Tia subdistrict, [[Mueang Surat Thani district]], around {{convert|3|km|mi|abbr=on}} away from [[Surat Thani|Surat Thani City]], and has a single, gravel paved runway, 800 meters in length.<ref name=":0" /> Later, the runway was expanded by the [[Royal Thai Air Force]] to 1,000 metres, which was still only capable of handling small planes, such as the [[Douglas DC-3]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Surat Thani International Airport |date=21 November 2013 |title=ประวัติความเป็นมา |trans-title=History |url=https://minisite.airports.go.th/suratthani/content1794.html?Action=view&DataID=193 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906154642/https://minisite.airports.go.th/suratthani/content1794.html?Action=view&DataID=193 |archive-date=6 September 2021 |access-date=6 September 2021 |language=th}}</ref>

=== The current airport ===
Due to the original airport's close proximity to Surat Thani, [[Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand|The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT)]] planned a new airport away from the city. A former airfield used in [[World War II]] by the military was chosen as the site for the new airport. After the construction site was chosen, a plan for the airfield's development was proposed. However, in 1973, the government suspended the development project and used the funds to support [[Phuket International Airport]]'s operations instead.<ref name=":0" />

In 1975, many residents in Surat Thani called for the project's reconsideration. The [[Ministry of Defence (Thailand)|Ministry of Defence]] and [[Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand|CAAT]] showed interest in the project and the airfield's development began in 1978. The airport was officially opened on 15 April 1981. It had a single runway, 2,500 metres in length. In 1993, the runway was expanded to support larger commercial flights and military operations.<ref name=":0" />

=== Future upgrades and developments ===
The [[Department of Airports (Thailand)|Department of Airports]] announced a 1.7 billion [[Thai baht|Baht]] plan to upgrade the airport.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last= |date=18 January 2021 |title=กรมท่าอากาศยาน อัดฉีด 1.7 พันล้านบาท ขยายสนามบินสุราษฎร์ธานี |trans-title=Department of Airports injects 1.7 billion baht to expand Surat Thani Airport |url=https://www.khaosod.co.th/economics/news_5763376 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907035354/https://www.khaosod.co.th/economics/news_5763376 |archive-date=7 September 2021 |access-date=7 September 2021 |website=Khaosod Online |language=th}}</ref> Details of the project are as following:

# The airport's [[Airport apron|apron]] will be expanded to increase its capacity up to 11 [[Boeing 737]]s at a time.<ref name=":1" />
# The electrical system and wires will be moved underground.
# The [[airport terminal]] will be expanded to accommodate up to 3.6 million passengers a year.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hongtong |first=Thodsapol |date=6 August 2019 |title=Three airports to be upgraded |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1725619/three-airports-to-be-upgraded |newspaper=Bangkok Post}}</ref> The car park will also be expanded to handle up to 700 cars at a time.<ref name=":1" />
# The [[runway]] will be upgraded to increase its strength.<ref name=":1" />
# Construction of the new transportation center to handle more passengers.<ref name=":1" />

==Military use==
As well as being a commercial facility, Surat Thani Airport is an active RTAF base, the home of 4th Air Division/7th Wing Air Combat Command. 701 Squadron, "Shark", flies twelve SAAB JAS-39 C/D [[Saab JAS 39 Gripen|Gripen]] fighter aircraft. 702 Squadron operates two [[airborne early warning]] (AEW) and two transport [[Saab 340|SAAB SF340]] airplanes. A further two SF340s are on order.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ประวัติกองบิน 7 |trans-title=History of Wing 7 |url=https://wing7.rtaf.mi.th/index.php/2017-02-01-01-28-28/2017-02-01-01-56-55 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603210752/https://wing7.rtaf.mi.th/index.php/2017-02-01-01-28-28/2017-02-01-01-56-55 |archive-date=3 June 2023 |access-date=18 September 2023 |language=th}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2002-02-07 |title=กองทัพอากาศจัดงานครบรอบ 20 ปี วันสถาปนา กองบิน 7 วันที่ 15 |trans-title=The Air Force held a ceremony to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Wing 7 on the 15th. |url=https://www.ryt9.com/s/prg/122275 |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=ryt9.com |language=th}}</ref>

==Accidents and incidents==
On 11 December 1998, [[Thai Airways International Flight 261]], an [[Airbus A310-200]] (HS-TIA, ''Phitsanulok''), bound for Surat Thani from [[Don Mueang International Airport|Bangkok]], was making its third landing attempt in heavy rain when it crashed into a [[rice paddy]] about {{cvt|3|km|mi}} from the airport; 101 of the 146 passengers and crew aboard were killed.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Aviation}}
{{Wikivoyage-inline|Surat Thani}}
* [http://www.thaiflyingclub.com/linkairportsuratthani.html Surat Thani Airport at Thaiflyingclub.com] – includes pictures
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130620124345/http://www.aviation.go.th/technical/nav/surat.htm Technical details on Surat Thani Airport]
* [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19981211-0 Aviation Safety Network on the 1988 crash]
* [https://www.airports.go.th/th/content/349/3648.html Surat Thai Airport Statistics (Thai)]
* [https://minisite.airports.go.th/suratthani/content1794.html?Action=view&DataID=193 Surat Thani Airport History (Thai)]

{{Airports in Thailand}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Airports in Thailand]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Surat Thani province]]
[[Category:Airports established in 1981]]