Thailand’s Trat airport to be developed as eastern aviation hub
Owner Bangkok Airways announces bold expansion plan
Bangkok Airways plans to upgrade Trat airport and make it the aviation centre of the East, boosting provincial economic and tourism growth.
Chief executive officer Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth announced the project during a press conference at Trat airport on Monday.
The airport is owned and operated by Bangkok Airways and covers 1,600 rai of land in tambon Tha Som of Khao Saming district.
Mr Puttipong said Trat airport had strong potential. The province was a key destination for tourists in the eastern region, especially Europeans, who were also major customers of Bangkok Airways.
Mr Puttipong said the airport handled 40,427 passengers in the first half of 2025 and the coming tourism season was expected to see a rise in numbers, in line with the growing trend of international travel from Europe.
“The plan is aimed at elevating the airport’s competitiveness and readiness to handle more domestic and international travel routes in the future, including the services of other airlines.” he said. “This would make the airport the aviation centre of the region.”
The first phase of the upgrade was expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2026. The runway will be extended from 1.8 kilometres to 2 kilometres, with new aircraft parking bays to accommodate up to three small to medium jet aircraft or two turboprop aircraft and two medium-sized jets at the same time. The passenger terminal will be enlarged from 2,100 square metres to 3,400 sq/m handling up to 250,000 passengers per year.
The estimated cost was 400 million baht, Mr Puttipong said.
He said that if tourist numbers continue to rise, the airport will resume flights to Surat Thani’s Koh Samui and Krabi that were stopped years ago. Previously planned flights to Cambodia’s Siem Reap, Koh Kong or Sihanoukville were also possible if the border conflict is resolved, Mr Puttipong said.
He said Bangkok Airways was open to welcoming other commercial airlines, including low-cost carriers.
Trat airport is about 35km from downtown Trat and only 17km from the Koh Chang ferry pier, making it a key gateway to many tourist destinations.
Bangkok Airways currently operates two daily round-trip Bangkok-Trat flights with a plan to increase that to three in October, to serve high-season demand.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/3096873/trat-airport-to-be-developed-as-eastern-aviation-hub
