Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Suvarnabhumi Airport is Bangkok's principal international gateway, operated by Airports of Thailand (AOT) and situated in Samut Prakan province to the east of the Thai capital. For a simulator pilot it offers a demanding modern airspace environment, three long ILS-equipped runways and one of the busiest ramps in Southeast Asia.
Suvarnabhumi Airport (ICAO: VTBS) is Thailand's principal international airport, serving Bangkok as the country's main gateway for both international and domestic traffic. It is operated by Airports of Thailand (AOT) and lies in Samut Prakan province, east of the capital. For a simulator pilot the field is notable for its scale, its trio of long instrument runways and the busy, complex terminal airspace surrounding one of Asia's major hub airports.
The airport sits at coordinates 13.6858 N, 100.749 E at an elevation of 3 feet, in Racha Thewa, Bang Phli district, Samut Prakan Province, roughly 25 to 31 kilometres east of downtown Bangkok. The airport footprint also extends into the Bang Kapi, Lat Krabang, Bang Na and Prawet districts on Bangkok's eastern side. It is one of two airports serving the capital, the other being Don Mueang International Airport (DMK) to the north.
Suvarnabhumi has three parallel hard-surfaced, lit runways, all equipped with ILS: 01L/19R at 12,574 feet, 01R/19L at 13,564 feet, and 02L/20R at 13,593 feet. The field elevation is 3 feet.
ATIS is broadcast on 127.8 MHz. Ground movements are split by sector: Ground (East) on 121.65 MHz, Ground (Main) on 121.75 MHz and Ground (West) on 121.95 MHz. Tower control for runways 01L/19R is on 119 MHz, while Tower for runways 01R/19L operates on 118.2 MHz. All three runways are served by ILS approaches.
Suvarnabhumi Airport was built on land formerly known as Nong Nguhao and was officially opened for limited domestic service on 15 September 2006, with full domestic and international commercial operations beginning on 28 September 2006. The airport's name, meaning 'land of gold', was chosen by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, whose own name includes the word 'Bhumi', and it references an ancient Buddhist golden kingdom thought to have lain somewhere in Southeast Asia. The airport was constructed primarily by the ITO joint venture and, from 2006 until 2014, its control tower, standing 132.2 metres tall, was the world's tallest free-standing air traffic control tower. Suvarnabhumi later took on the IATA code BKK, which was reassigned to it from Don Mueang once that airport ceased handling international commercial flights. The airport has continued to expand since opening; a Development Project Phase 2, including the Midfield Satellite 1 (SAT-1) terminal building with 28 contact gates, was undertaken from 2016 to raise annual passenger capacity from 45 million to 60 million.
Suvarnabhumi operates around the clock, with a single large passenger terminal handling both domestic and international traffic, supplemented since the Phase 2 development by the SAT-1 midfield satellite terminal connected to the main building by an automated people mover. The airport remains Thailand's busiest and one of the principal hub airports in the ASEAN region, with over 120 airlines operating scheduled services in recent years.
