Passengers

More information Year, Total passengers ...

Year	Total passengers	Change	Total flights	Total cargo (tonnes)
2001	180,621		1,531	4,646.35
2002	163,321	9.58%	1,510	2,472.06
2003	162,661	0.40%	1,518	2,070.01
2004	202,250	24.34%	1,629	1,858.76
2005	206,342	2.02%	1,793	1,698.92
2006	291,094	41.07%	2,812	1,412.82
2007	359,467	23.49%	3,316	1,061.95
2008	344,748	4.09%	2,904	1,464.76
2009	394,096	14.31%	3,266	1,301.99
2010	505,776	28.34%	4,460	1,152.31
2011	595,184	17.68%	5,251	1,369.13
2012	816,484	37.18%	6,308	1,541.00
2013	1,080,508	32.34%	8,457	1,568.07
2014	1,319,660	22.13%	10,175	1,571.29
2015	1,856,315	40.67%	13,257	1,601.26
2016	2,032,042	9.47%	13,813	1,575.77
2017	2,247,344	10.60%	15,396	1,036.80
2018	2,108,289	6.19%	14,000	1,144.99
2019	1,864,997	11.54%	12,340	829.87

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Donnok airport

Surat Thani Airport's predecessor is known locally as Donnok Airport (Thai: สนามบินดอนนก). It is located around 3 kilometres away from Surat Thani City, and has a single, gravel paved runway, 800 meters in length.^[2] Later, the runway was expanded by the Royal Thai Air Force to 1,000 metres, which was still only capable of handling small planes, such as the DC-3.^[2]

The current airport

Due to the original airport's close proximity to Surat Thani, The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) planned a new airport away from the city. A former airfield used in World War II by the military was chosen as the site for the new airport. After the construction site was chosen, a plan for the airfield's development was proposed. However, in 1973, the government suspended the development project and used the funds to support Phuket International Airport's operations instead.^[2]

In 1975, many residents in Surat Thani called for the project's reconsideration. The Ministry of Defence and CAAT showed interest in the project and the airfield's development began in 1978. The airport was officially opened on 15 April 1981. It had a single runway, 2,500 metres in length. In 1993, the runway was expanded to support larger commercial flights and military operations.^[2]

Future upgrades and developments

The Department of Airports announced a 1.7 billion Baht plan to upgrade the airport.^[3] Details of the project are as following:

1. The airport's apron will be expanded to increase its capacity up to 11 Boeing 737s at a time.^[3]
2. The electrical system and wires will be moved underground.
3. The airport terminal will be expanded to accommodate up to 3.6 million passengers a year.^[4] The car park will also be expanded to handle up to 700 cars at a time.^[3]
4. The runway will be upgraded to increase its strength.^[3]
5. Construction of the new transportation center to handle more passengers.^[3]