Ubon Ratchathani Airport
Encyclopedia
- For the Australian and United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
use of the facility during the Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
see Ubon Royal Thai Air Force BaseUbon Royal Thai Air Force BaseUbon Royal Thai Air Force Base is a Royal Thai Air Force facility and is the home of Wing 21 of the RTAF 2nd Air Division. It is located in East-Central Thailand, near the city of Ubon Ratchathani, in the Ubon Ratchathani Province. It is approximately 305 miles North-East of Bangkok...
Ubon Ratchathani Airport is a commercial airport located in Ubon Ratchathani
Ubon Ratchathani
Ubon Ratchathani is a city on the Mun River in the south-east of the Isan region of Thailand. It is known as Ubon for short. The name means "Royal Lotus City." The provincial seal features a pond with a lotus flower and leaves in a circular frame. Ubon is the administrative centre of Ubon...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
.
Airlines and destinations
Military Use
As well as being a commercial facility, Ubon Ratchathani Airport is also an active Royal Thai Air ForceRoyal Thai Air Force
The Royal Thai Air Force or RTAF is the air force of the Kingdom of Thailand. Since its establishment in 1913, as one of the earliest air forces of Asia, the Royal Thai Air Force had engaged in many major and minor battles. During the Vietnam war era, the air force has been developed with USAF-aid...
(RTAF) base, the home of 2nd Air Division/21st Wing Air Combat Command.
The 211sq "Eagles" fly the Northrup F-5E/F "Tiger II"" fighter aircraft.
History
During the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
the facility was known as Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, serving as a front-line base of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
.
It subsequently became an international civilian airport, with direct flights to Vietnam. These flights proved unprofitable, and while the "international" signage is still in place, only domestic flights have operated for a number of years.
In 2008 here were up to six flights per day from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani, all then returning within the hour to Bangkok: 3 were operated by Thai Airways, 2 by Air Asia and 1 by Nok Air. Nok Air ceased their service in mid 2008, and Thai Airways and Air Asia each ceased one of their own flights, so that in January 2009 there are only 2 Thai Airways (early morning and evening) and 1 Air Asia flight (midmorning) each day. Thai Airways expects to reintroduce their afternoon service in late January 2009. Nok Air now (August 2010) has three flights from Bangkok to Ubon.
Accidents and incidents
- On 9 August 1983, Douglas VC-47B L2-30/07/641 of the Royal Thai Air ForceRoyal Thai Air ForceThe Royal Thai Air Force or RTAF is the air force of the Kingdom of Thailand. Since its establishment in 1913, as one of the earliest air forces of Asia, the Royal Thai Air Force had engaged in many major and minor battles. During the Vietnam war era, the air force has been developed with USAF-aid...
crashed on take-off from Ubon Ratchathani AFB on a military flight. All five people on board were killed, along with four on the ground.