Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Phuket International Airport (VTSP/HKT) is Thailand's principal gateway to the island of Phuket, sitting on the northern tip of the island in the Mai Khao subdistrict of Thalang district. It is one of the busiest airports in Thailand, handling large volumes of international and domestic tourist traffic to the Andaman coast resorts.
Phuket International Airport serves the resort island of Phuket in southern Thailand and is a major hub for the country's tourism industry. It is operated as one of the principal airports of Airports of Thailand (AOT) and ranks among the busiest airports in the country, making it a significant point of reference for any simulator pilot flying in the Andaman Sea region.
The airport lies at the far northern end of Phuket island, in the Mai Khao subdistrict of Thalang district, around 32 km (20 miles) north of Phuket city itself, with the main tourist beaches of Patong, Kata and Karon lying a further 23 to 27 miles to the south.
Phuket has a single physical runway, 09/27, a hard-surfaced strip 9,826 feet in length. Both directions are lit, and runway 27 is equipped with an ILS approach.
The published frequencies for Phuket are Approach on 124.7 MHz, ATIS on 128 MHz, Ground on 121.9 MHz and Tower on 118.1 MHz. Runway 27 offers an ILS approach, making instrument arrivals from the west straightforward for simulator pilots.
The airport sits at the northern tip of Phuket island close to the coastline, with Mai Khao itself and the surrounding beaches serving as useful visual references when approaching from the north or west over the Andaman Sea.
Phuket International Airport is Thailand's third-busiest airport by passenger numbers, after Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang in the Bangkok area, and it set a record of 15.1 million arrivals and departures in 2016, an increase of 17.8 percent over the previous year. A major expansion and renovation of the airport was completed in 2016 at a cost of 5.14 billion baht, raising the capacity of the international terminal to 12.5 million passengers annually. Because of ongoing congestion and limited room for further expansion on the existing site, a proposal was put forward in 2012 for a rail link to Krabi International Airport as an alternative, and a later proposal for an entirely new airport to serve the three provinces of Phang Nga, Phuket and Krabi was put on hold in 2022.
The airport today comprises three terminals handling both international and domestic services, reflecting its role as the main air gateway for Phuket's large tourism industry. It continues to be one of Thailand's busiest airports by passenger volume.