: ''For the United States use of the facility during the Vietnam War see

Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base (Udorn RTAFB) is a Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) base, the home of 23rd Wing Air Command. It is in the city of Udon Thani in northeastern Thailand and is the main airport serving the city and province. The RTAF 23 ...

'' Udon Thani International Airport ( th, ท่าอากาศยานอุดรธานี) is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longe ...

near the city of

Udon Thani Udon Thani ( th, อุดรธานี, ) is a city in Isan (Isan, Northeast Thailand), the capital of Udon Thani Province and with a population of approximately 430,000 in its urban area the 7th largest city in the country. The city municip ...

( th, อุดรธานี also ''Udorn Thanee'') in

Udon Thani Province Udon Thani province ( th, อุดรธานี, ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat'') which lies in upper northeastern Thailand, also called Isan. It is bordered by the provinces of Nong Khai to the north, Sakon Nakhon ...

in the northeast region of Thailand. It is approximately northeast of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...

. It currently has domestic flights to and from

(

Suvarnabhumi ( sa, सुवर्णभूमि; Pali: '); my, သုဝဏ္ဏဘူမိ, ; km, សុវណ្ណភូមិ, ''Sovannaphoum''; and th, สุวรรณภูมิ, . is a toponym, that appears in many ancient Indian literary s ...

and Don Mueang),

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...

(on

Nok Air Nok Air (, th, นกแอร์, derived from ''nok'' (นก), the Thai word for ''bird'') is a low-cost airline in Thailand operating mostly domestic services out of Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport. Thai Airways International ow ...

), Hat Yai (on

Thai Lion Air Thai Lion Mentari Co. Ltd, trading as Thai Lion Air ( th, ไทยไลอ้อนแอร์), is a Thai low-cost airline, operating with Thai partners as an associate company of Lion Air of Indonesia. The carrier operates from Bangkok's Do ...

Phuket Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands o ...

(on

Thai AirAsia Thai AirAsia (, th, ไทยแอร์เอเชีย) is a joint venture of Malaysian low-fare airline AirAsia ( th, แอร์เอเชีย) and Thailand's Asia Aviation. It serves AirAsia's regularly scheduled domestic and int ...

Rayong Rayong ( th, ระยอง, ) is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand and the capital of Rayong province. It covers tambons Tha Pradu and Pak Nam and parts of ''tambons'' Choeng Noen and Noen Phra, all within ...

(on

), and

Ubon Ratchathani Ubon Ratchathani ( th, อุบลราชธานี, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan (with Khorat/Nakhon Ratchasima, Udon Thani, and Khon Kaen), also known as the "big four of Isan." The city is on the Mun River in the sout ...

(on

). In 2006, the airport had 677,411 passengers 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 money-maker, with profits reaching 100 million baht a year.

History

During the Vietnam War the facility was known as

, 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

Passenger

Military use

As well as being a commercial facility, Udon Thani International Airport is also an active

Royal Thai Air Force "Royal Thai Air Force March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 9 April 1937 (Royal Thai Air Force Day) , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles ...

(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 The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light attack jet and advanced jet trainer co-manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France and Dornier Flugzeugwerke of Germany. It was developed specifically to perform trainer and light attack missions, ...

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 PCL Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT) ( th, บริษัท ท่าอากาศยานไทย จำกัด (มหาชน)) is a Thai public company. It manages Thailand's six international airports and will add four ...

(AOT) is budgeting 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 Airport is one of the four slated for expansion and AOT management. AOT intends to build Chiang Mai 2 in

Lamphun Province Lamphun ( th, ลำพูน, ; Northern Thai: ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat''), lies in upper northern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Chiang Mai, Lampang, and Tak. Geography Lamphun is ...

and Phuket Airport 2 in Phang Nga Province. The three other existing airports to be managed by AOT are

Chumphon Airport Chumphon Airport , ( th, ท่าอากาศยานชุมพร), is an airport in Tambon Chum Kho, Pathio District, Chumphon, Thailand. The airport is 35 kilometres north of Chumphon. Airlines and destinations Overview In 2008 ...

Sakon Nakhon Airport Sakon Nakhon Airport ( th, ท่าอากาศยานสกลนคร) is an airport in Sakon Nakhon, Thailand. It is used for civil and military purposes (Royal Thai Air Force). Airlines and destinations Accidents *On 23 September ...

, and

Tak Airport Tak Airport is an airport serving Tak, a town in the Tak Province of Thailand. Between November 1990 to March 1994, Thai Airways International served the routes of Tak Airport. There are no airlines in service since then, but the Tak Airpor ...

References

External links

Udon Thani International Airport Homepage
{{authority control Airports in Thailand Buildings and structures in Udon Thani province Airports established in 1932