Pattaya Airport / FAQ
Everything you need before flying to Pattaya: getting to Pattaya, Jomtien and Rayong, transport fares in baht, car rental, parking, terminals and airlines at Pattaya Airport (U-Tapao, UTP).
Pattaya Airport is the marketing name for U-Tapao International Airport (UTP), which lies in Ban Chang district, Rayong province, about 40 km south-east of Pattaya. GPS coordinates are 12.6797, 101.005. There is no rail link yet, so all transfers are by road.
The IATA code for Pattaya Airport is UTP and the ICAO code is VTBU. Its full official name is U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport. Use UTP for tickets, car rental and transfers to Pattaya and the eastern Gulf.
U-Tapao handled around 370,000 passengers in 2023/24, about 227,500 international and 142,700 domestic. It is small today but is being expanded under Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor into a major eastern hub.
Pattaya Airport has two passenger terminals. Terminal 2, opened in February 2019 at about 22,000 m2, handles most international and charter flights, while Terminal 1 covers domestic and overflow traffic on the shared military airfield.
Pattaya is about 40 km north-west, roughly 45 to 50 minutes by road. A shared airport minibus costs about ฿250 per person, a metered taxi ฿600 to ฿800, and a private transfer from about ฿1,300 per car. There is no train yet.
Yes, a shared airport minibus or limousine van runs to Pattaya for about ฿250 per person, leaving when full, and a shared van to Rayong or Ban Phe is around ฿300. The planned high-speed rail line to Bangkok's airports is not yet open.
A metered taxi to Pattaya runs about ฿600 to ฿800, though drivers often quote a fixed ฿1,000. Jomtien is ฿1,000 to ฿1,600 and Rayong city about ฿1,000. Fares are per car and can rise at night.
Yes, several companies have desks at U-Tapao, from about ฿800 a day in low season, with no-deposit options. You need an International Driving Permit alongside your licence to drive legally in Thailand.
Yes. Foreign drivers in Thailand must carry an International Driving Permit with their national licence. Rental desks and the frequent police checkpoints around Pattaya can ask for both, and driving without an IDP can void your insurance.
Yes, a car park sits beside the terminal, with a free kiss-and-drop zone for brief stops and short and longer-stay areas. U-Tapao does not publish a fixed tariff, so confirm the current rate at the terminal.
Yes, Pattaya Airport offers free WiFi in the passenger terminals, useful to check flights, arrange a transfer or download a boarding pass before security.
Arrive about 2 hours before a domestic flight and 3 hours before an international charter at U-Tapao. The terminal is small, so a full charter can fill check-in and immigration quickly.
U-Tapao is served mainly by Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, Thai Lion Air and Nok Air on domestic routes, plus seasonal international charters from Chinese carriers and Russian airlines such as Azur Air, Nordwind, Red Wings and S7 in winter.
Pattaya's high season is November to February, cool and dry on the Gulf coast but the busiest for the airport. The green season, May to October, brings rain but lower prices, and is usually the cheapest time for car rental.
The airport is officially U-Tapao, in Ban Chang district of Rayong province, but it is marketed as Pattaya Airport because Pattaya is the region's best-known destination, about 40 km away. Both names refer to the same airport, code UTP.
U-Tapao was built by the United States in 1965-66 as a B-52 bomber base and a major USAF airfield in South-East Asia. Its 3,505 m runway was a designated Space Shuttle emergency landing site, and it remains an active Royal Thai Navy airbase, now the centrepiece of the Eastern Economic Corridor.
Did not find your answer? See the car rental, taxi and transfer and parking pages, or go back to the Pattaya Airport home page. For official information, check U-Tapao Airport.