U-Tapao International Airport serves both the public and the military. It serves as the airfield for the Utapao Royal Third Navy. The airport was developed to meet the international levels as a result of increased demand for flights in the country and is being planned for future expansion due to the capacity issues of the two larger Bangkok airports and growing transport infrastructure linking Bangkok to Pattaya, the main city close to U-Tapao.
Until recently, the airport was not well known or developed and only accommodated some charter , not scheduled, flights. In 2015 only 170,000 passengers used Utapao Airport. However in 2016 that leaped to 710,000 and in 2017, the figure was 1,200,000. Making it one of the fastest growing airports in the world. Terminal 2 opened in early 2019 and is now fully operational.
It had small number of both local and international flights but, mainly due to AirAsia expanding their flights and an increase in Chinese airlines that number is ever growing. Terminal 2 is the latest phase in the expansion and upgrading of Utapao Airport. This addition means it has the capacity to handle up to 3,000,000 passengers annually.
Currently the airport does not handle cargo traffic.