Phuket International Airport

Airport in southern Thailand From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Phuket International Airport (IATA: HKT, ICAO: VTSP) is an international airport serving the island province of Phuket in southern Thailand. It is located 32 km (20 mi) north of the city of Phuket in the Mai Khao subdistrict of Thalang district. The airport plays a major role in Thailand's tourism industry, as Phuket is a popular resort destination. It is the third-busiest airport in Thailand in terms of passengers, after Suvarnabhumi Airport and Don Mueang International Airport in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region. The airport set a record of 15.1 million arrivals and departures in 2016, up 17.8 percent from 2015.[3]

Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorAirports of Thailand
ServesPhuket
LocationMai Khao, Thalang, Phuket, Thailand
Quick facts ท่าอากาศยานภูเก็ตTha-akatsayan Phuket, Summary ...
Phuket International Airport
ท่าอากาศยานภูเก็ต
Tha-akatsayan Phuket
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorAirports of Thailand
ServesPhuket
LocationMai Khao, Thalang, Phuket, Thailand
Focus city forThai Airways International
Operating base for
Elevation AMSL25 m / 82 ft
Coordinates08°06′47″N 098°19′00″E
Websitephuket.airportthai.co.th
Maps
HKT/VTSP is located in Phuket
HKT/VTSP
HKT/VTSP
Location in Phuket province
HKT/VTSP is located in Thailand
HKT/VTSP
HKT/VTSP
Location in Thailand
HKT/VTSP is located in Southeast Asia
HKT/VTSP
HKT/VTSP
Location in Southeast Asia
Interactive map of Phuket International Airport
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
09/27 3,000 9,843 Asphalt concrete
Statistics (2024)
Total passengers17,215,315 Increase23.15%
International passengers10,573,403 Increase37.02%
Domestic passengers6,641,912 Increase6.06%
Aircraft movements103,675 Increase 18.75%
Freight (tonnes)57,655 Increase78.95%
Sources: Airport[1] Airports of Thailand[2]
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Facilities

Terminals

Inside the domestic terminal in 2019
Thai Airways Boeing 747-400 departing from Phuket International Airport
A view from Mai Khao beach with a Thai Airways Airbus A330-300 landing at Phuket International Airport's runway 09
Runway 09, with Mai Khao beach in the foreground
Phuket International Airport (original) in 2010

Phuket International Airport features three distinct terminals to manage its air traffic. Terminal 2 is designated for international flights, while Terminal 3 handles domestic flights. Terminal X, specifically intended for charter flights, was opened in February 2014.

To accommodate increasing passenger traffic, Phuket International Airport underwent a significant expansion and renovation project, which was completed in 2016 at a cost of 5.14 billion baht.[4] This expansion of the new international terminal increased its capacity to handle 12.5 million passengers annually.[5] Overall, the expansion enhanced the airport's total capacity from 6.5 million to 20 million passengers per year.[6]

In light of the airport's congestion and limited space for further expansion, a proposal for a rail link from Krabi International Airport, an alternate location, was put forward in 2012. This suggestion aimed to alleviate the growing traffic and logistical challenges faced by Phuket Airport.[7]

Future

Main article: Phang Nga airport

A proposal for a new international airport has been put forward, aimed at serving three provinces: Phang Nga, Phuket, and Krabi. The construction of this airport is planned to be carried out in two phases. The first phase of the project was anticipated to be completed by 2025, but in 2022, the entire proposal was put on hold. The new airport was intended to function as an alternative to the existing Phuket and Krabi airports, offering additional capacity and potentially alleviating air traffic congestion in the region.[8][9][10]

Airlines and destinations

More information Airlines, Destinations ...
AirlinesDestinations
Aeroflot Khabarovsk,[11] Krasnoyarsk,[12] Moscow–Sheremetyevo,[13] Novosibirsk,[14] St. Petersburg,[12] Vladivostok,[12] Yekaterinburg[15]
Air Arabia Seasonal: Sharjah[16]
Air Astana Almaty,[17] Astana[18]
Air China Beijing–Capital,[19] Chengdu–Tianfu,[20] Hangzhou[21]
Air France Paris–Charles de Gaulle[22]
Air India Delhi[23]
Air India Express Hyderabad[24]
AirAsia Kuala Lumpur–International, Penang[25]
Akasa Air Bengaluru,[26] Mumbai[27]
arkia Seasonal: Tel Aviv (begins 7 July 2026)[28]
Asiana Airlines Seoul–Incheon[29]
Azur Air Seasonal charter: Barnaul,[30] Chelyabinsk,[citation needed] Chita,[31] Irkutsk,[32] Kazan,[citation needed] Khabarovsk,[citation needed] Krasnoyarsk,[citation needed] Mineralnye Vody,[33] Moscow–Vnukovo,[citation needed] Nizhny Novgorod,[citation needed] Novokuznetsk,[34] Novosibirsk,[citation needed] Omsk,[32] Perm,[35] Samara,[citation needed] Sochi,[36] St. Petersburg,[citation needed] Surgut,[37] Tomsk,[32] Tyumen,[citation needed] Ufa,[38] Vladivostok,[citation needed] Yekaterinburg[citation needed]
Air Changan Xi'an[39]
Bangkok Airways Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi,[40] Chiang Mai,[41] Hat Yai,[42][43] Koh Samui,[44] Pattaya[44]
Batik Air Malaysia Kuala Lumpur–International[45]
Belavia Seasonal charter: Minsk[46]
Cathay Pacific Hong Kong[47]
Centrum Air Tashkent[48]
China Eastern Airlines Chengdu–Tianfu,[49] Kunming,[50] Nanjing,[51] Xi'an[50]
China Southern Airlines Guangzhou[52]
Condor Frankfurt[53]
Edelweiss Air Seasonal: Zurich[54]
El Al Tel Aviv[55]
Emirates Dubai–International[56][57]
Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi[58][59]
EZY Airlines Hua Hin[60]
Finnair Seasonal: Helsinki[citation needed]
Firefly Penang[61]
Greater Bay Airlines Seasonal: Hong Kong (ends 13 April 2026)[62]
GullivAir Seasonal charter: Sofia[63]
Hainan Airlines[64] Beijing–Capital
HK Express Hong Kong[65][66]
Hong Kong Airlines Hong Kong[67]
IndiGo Bengaluru,[68] Delhi,[69] Kolkata,[70] Mumbai[71]
Indonesia AirAsia Denpasar[72]
Jetstar Melbourne, Perth,[73] Sydney
Jin Air Seasonal: Seoul–Incheon[citation needed]
Juneyao Air Nanjing, Shanghai–Pudong[74]
Korean Air Seoul–Incheon[75][76]
Kunming Airlines Kunming[50]
LOT Polish Airlines Seasonal charter: Warsaw–Chopin[77][78]
Mahan Air Tehran–Imam Khomeini[79][better source needed]
Malaysia Airlines Kuala Lumpur–International[80]
MIAT Mongolian Airlines Seasonal: Ulaanbaatar[81][better source needed]
Myanmar Airways International Yangon[82]
Neos Seasonal: Milan–Malpensa[citation needed]
Seasonal charter: Bratislava,[83] Brno,[84] Ostrava[85]
Nok Air Bangkok–Don Mueang,[86] Chengdu–Tianfu
Nordwind Airlines Chelyabinsk,[87][better source needed] Irkutsk,[87][better source needed] Khabarovsk,[87][better source needed] Krasnoyarsk, Moscow–Sheremetyevo,[87][better source needed] Nizhny Novgorod,[87][better source needed] Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg,[87][better source needed] Ufa[38]
Norse Atlantic Airways Seasonal: Oslo,[88] Stockholm–Arlanda[88]
Oman Air Muscat[89]
Qanot Sharq Seasonal: Tashkent[90]
Qatar Airways Doha
S7 Airlines Seasonal: Irkutsk[91]
SalamAir Muscat[92]
Saudia Jeddah,[93] Riyadh[93]
Scandinavian Airlines Seasonal: Copenhagen (begins 8 December 2026)[94]
SCAT Airlines Seasonal charter: Almaty[citation needed]
Scoot Singapore[95]
Shanghai Airlines Shanghai–Pudong[51]
Shenzhen Airlines Shenzhen[50]
Sichuan Airlines Chengdu–Tianfu,[49] Chongqing[96]
Singapore Airlines Singapore[97][98]
Spring Airlines Guangzhou,[99] Shanghai–Pudong[100]
Sunclass Airlines Seasonal charter: Copenhagen,[citation needed] Gothenburg,[101] Oslo,[citation needed] Stockholm–Arlanda[101]
Sunday Airlines Seasonal charter: Almaty,[102][better source needed] Bishkek[102][better source needed]
Thai AirAsia Bangkok–Don Mueang,[103] Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi,[104] Chennai,[105][better source needed] Chiang Mai,[106] Khon Kaen, Kochi,[44][107] Siem Reap,[108] Udon Thani
Thai Airways International Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi[109][110]
Thai Lion Air Bangkok–Don Mueang,[111] Singapore,[112] Zhengzhou
Charter: Taichung[113]
Thai VietJet Air Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi,[114] Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai,[115] Mumbai[116]
Tigerair Taiwan Taipei–Taoyuan[117][118]
TUI Airways Seasonal: London–Gatwick,[119] Manchester[citation needed]
Seasonal charter: Copenhagen,[citation needed] Gothenburg,[citation needed] Helsinki,[citation needed] Stockholm–Arlanda[citation needed]
Turkish Airlines Istanbul[120]
Uzbekistan Airways Tashkent[121]
VietJet Air Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City[122][123]
Vietnam Airlines Ho Chi Minh City[124]
Virgin Atlantic Seasonal: London–Heathrow (begins 19 October 2026)[125]
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Phuket International Airport passenger destinations

Traffic statistics

Phuket is a favorite tourist destination in the region. International passengers mainly come from Asia Pacific and Europe.[126] In 2012 it ranked second-busiest in total passenger traffic, after Suvarnabhumi Airport in the Bangkok metropolitan area. In mid-2015 the airport, designed to handle 20 flights per hour, was servicing 23 per hour.[127]

Phuket airport handled 12.9 million passengers in 2015, 12.8 percent more than 2014, with international numbers rising 8.27 percent to 6.95 million and domestic up 18.6 percent to 5.9 million. Aircraft movements grew 11.6 percent to 84,758, with 43,996 international (up 7.63 percent) and 40,762 domestic (up 16.1 percent).[4]

Passenger movements

More information Year, Domestic ...
Year Domestic International Total Change%
1995 1,730,895 919,503 2,650,398 Increase 9.68
1996 1,896,068 879,688 2,775,756 Increase 4.73
1997 1,898,303 942,336 2,840,639 Increase 2.34
1998 2,132,108 1,010,606 3,142,714 Increase 10.63
1999 2,035,836 1,189,895 3,225,731 Increase 2.64
2000 2,171,146 1,358,745 3,541,575 Increase 9.43
2001 2,240,264 1,370,429 3,610,693 Increase 2.29
2002 2,230,663 1,382,858 3,613,521 Increase 0.08
2003 2,104,548 1,496,401 3,600,949 Decrease 0.35
2004 2,826,022 2,024,879 4,850,901 Increase 34.71
2005 2,246,723 922,311 3,169,034 Decrease 34.67
2006 3,032,976 1,677,723 4,710,699 Increase 48.65
2007 3,513,966 2,190,399 5,704,365 Increase 21.09
2008 3,321,443 2,409,305 5,703,748 Increase 0.46
2009 3,489,012 2,290,906 5,779,918 Increase 0.86
2010 3,701,427 3,342,356 7,043,783 Increase 21.87
2011 4,097,276 4,370,719 8,467,995 Increase 20.22
2012 4,475,624 5,065,928 9,541,552 Increase 12.68
2013 4,958,880 6,383,611 11,342,491 Increase 18.87
2014 4,976,451 6,425,047 11,401,498 Increase 0.52
2015 5,909,356 6,950,000 12,859,356 Increase 12.8
2016 6,997,879 8,109,306 15,107,185 Increase 17.48
2017 7,655,579 9,200,058 16,855,637 Increase 11.6
2018 7,817,894 10,403,631 18,221,525 Increase 8.1
2019 7,452,262 10,666,178 18,118,440 Decrease 0.57
2020 2,332,349 3,155,264 5,429,708 Decrease 70.0
2021 1,502,356 287,481 1,789,837 Decrease 67.04
2022 4,659,672 3,155,264 7,814,936 Increase 336.63%
2023 6,262,326 7,716,858 13,979,184 Increase 78.88%
2024 6,641,912 10,573,403 17,215,315 Increase 18.75%
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Aircraft movements

More information Year, Domestic ...
Year Domestic International Total Change%
1995 11,135 9,380 20,515 Increase 6.79
1996 11,586 9,626 21,212 Increase 3.40
1997 11,402 10,257 21,659 Increase 2.11
1998 9,673 10,272 19,945 Decrease 7.91
1999 9,391 11,887 21,278 Increase 6.68
2000 11,850 11,472 23,322 Increase 9.61
2001 12,705 12,467 25,172 Increase 7.93
2002 10,920 12,248 23,168 Decrease 7.96
2003 12,669 12,015 24,684 Increase 6.54
2004 16,765 15,917 32,682 Increase 32.40
2005 14,115 9,970 24,085 Decrease 26.30
2006 17,207 13,680 30,887 Increase 28.24
2007 23,915 16,884 40,799 Increase 32.09
2008 20,814 17,177 37,991 Decrease 6.88
2009 20,883 16,987 37,870 Decrease 0.32
2010 25,311 23,257 48,568 Increase 28.25
2011 27,932 28,741 56,673 Increase 16.69
2012 28,578 32,426 61,004 Increase 7.64
2013 32,370 40,219 72,589 Increase 18.99
2014 35,096 40,878 75,974 Increase 4.66
2015 40,762 43,996 84,758 Increase 16.1
2016 48,883 48,930 97,813 Increase 15.4
2017 52,609 53,484 106,093 Increase 8.5
2018 54,514 63,766 118,280 Increase 11.49
2019 50,409 65,167 115,576 Decrease 2.29
2020 25,505 13,343 38,848 Decrease 66.4
2021 14,347 4,177 18,524 Decrease 52.32
2022 36,033 21,436 57,469 Increase 210.24
2023 44,080 43,224 87,304 Increase 51.91
2024 46,369 57,306 103,675 Increase 23.15
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Freight tonnage

More information Year, Domestic ...
Year Domestic International Total Change%
1995 5,659 5,021 10,680 Increase 198.16
1996 7,994 5,620 13,614 Increase 27.47
1997 8,285 7,522 15,807 Increase 16.11
1998 8,213 7,683 15,896 Increase 0.56
1999 10,963 11,455 22,418 Increase 41.03
2000 9,841 11,091 20,932 Decrease 6.63
2001 9,345 9,651 18,996 Decrease 9.25
2002 10,352 12,855 23,207 Increase 22.17
2003 10,866 12,338 23,204 Increase 0.01
2004 13,382 14,659 28,041 Increase 20.85
2005 12,306 6,425 18,731 Decrease 33.20
2006 13,384 4,729 18,113 Decrease 3.30
2007 13,268 6,452 19,720 Increase 8.87
2008 12,671 6,535 19,206 Decrease 2.61
2009 13,195 7,780 20,975 Increase 9.21
2010 17,434 12,810 30,244 Increase 44.19
2011 17,627 10,687 28,314 Decrease 6.38
2012 18,798 15,541 34,339 Increase 21.28
2013 17,234 17,386 34,620 Increase 0.82
2014 17,653 22,631 40,284 Increase 16.36
2015 14,552 22,822 37,374 Decrease 7.22
2016 14,676 28,538 43,214 Decrease 5.73
2017 15,670 37,529 53,990 Increase 23.1
2018 15,864 46,274 62,138 Increase 15.09
2019 11,592 41,120 52,712 Decrease 15.17
2020 4,429 10,797 11,904 Decrease 78.1
2021 2,111 2,098 4,209 Decrease 64.64
2022 3,152 3,391 6,543 Decrease 68.37
2023 4,699 27,518 32,217 Increase 330.71
2024 4,549 53,106 57,655 Increase 78.96
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Busiest international routes

More information Rank, Airport ...
Busiest international routes to and from Phuket International Airport (2019)[128]
RankAirportPassengers handled Change%
1Singapore Singapore1,052,635 Decrease 0.58%
2Malaysia Kuala Lumpur–International871,584 Increase 1.00%
3China Shanghai–Pudong760,864 Decrease 1.64%
4Hong Kong Hong Kong642,904 Decrease 4.57%
5China Chengdu–Shuangliu546,908 Increase 32.49%
6South Korea Seoul–Incheon461,967 Increase 6.57%
7Qatar Doha422,087 Increase 23.08%
8China Beijing–Capital412,213 Increase 4.58%
9United Arab Emirates Dubai–International367,967 Decrease 13.90%
10Russia Moscow–Sheremetyevo362,977 Increase 11.53%
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Busiest domestic routes

More information Rank, Airport ...
Busiest domestic routes to and from Phuket Airport (2019)[128]
RankAirportPassengers handled Change%
1Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi3,371,171 Increase 0.29%
2Bangkok–Don Mueang3,005,310 Decrease 9.86%
3Chiang Mai415,771 Decrease 12.23%
4Pattaya165,992 Increase 4.58%
5Koh Samui154,242 Decrease 10.97%
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Phuket Airport passenger totals (millions)

PassengersYear03,000,0006,000,0009,000,00012,000,00015,000,00018,000,00021,000,0001995200020052010201520202025PassengersAnnual passenger traffic

Incidents and accidents

  • 15 April 1985: A Thai Airways Company Boeing 737-200 (registered HS-TBB) crashed, killing all 11 people on board. The crew had issued a radio call informing air traffic control that both engines had flamed out. No cause could be determined for the engine shutdown.[129]
  • 31 August 1987: Thai Airways Flight 365, a Boeing 737-200 (registered HS-TBC) from Hat Yai International Airport crashed into the ocean upon final approach, killing all 83 people on board. The investigation determined pilot error as the primary cause.[130]
  • 16 September 2007: One-Two-Go Airlines Flight 269 arriving on a scheduled flight from Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport crashed after hitting the runway while attempting to land in driving rain and severe wind shear. The McDonnell Douglas MD-82 (registered HS-OMG) slid off the runway, split into two, and exploded into flames after an apparent attempt to execute a go-around moments before touchdown. There were 123 passengers and seven crew on board; 89 died and 40 were injured.[citation needed]
  • 11 March 2026: An Air India Express Boeing 737 MAX 8 (registered VT-BWQ) from Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport made a hard landing on runway 09, causing damage to the aircraft's nose landing gear, resulting in the aircraft losing both nose landing gear tires .[131] The aircraft became disabled on the runway, forcing the closure of the airport's only runway for approximately six hours[132] while the aircraft was removed and runway inspected. All passengers and crew were evacuated safely with no injuries reported.[132]

References

External links

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