Chiang Rai International Airport
Mae Fah Luang - Chiang Rai International Airport ท่าอากาศยานแม่ฟ้าหลวง เชียงราย Tha-akatsayan Mae Fah Luang Chiang Rai | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | |||||||||||
| Serves | |||||||||||
| Location | Ban Du, Mueang Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai, Thailand | ||||||||||
| Opened | 5 August 1992 | ||||||||||
| Operating base for | Thai AirAsia | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 390 m / 1,280 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 19°57′08″N 99°52′58″E / 19.95222°N 99.88278°E | ||||||||||
| Website | chiangrai | ||||||||||
| Maps | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Statistics (2024) | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Source: Airports of Thailand | |||||||||||
Mae Fah Luang - Chiang Rai International Airport (IATA: CEI, ICAO: VTCT) is in Ban Du subdistrict, Mueang Chiang Rai district, Chiang Rai province in northern Thailand. The airport is about 8 km from the city center. Since 1998, it has been managed by the Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT). In 2013, the airport handled over 1,000,000 passengers and 7,000 passenger flights. The airport had international flight facilities and served a few international routes to Macau, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Kunming, Haikou, Hangzhou, Changsha, Xishuangbanna, Shenzhen, and Chengdu, all of which were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since travel restrictions were imposed in China, there have been no international commercial flights connecting Chiang Rai to the global market. Thus, the airport has been seeking other possible routes to connect to such as to South Korea.
In 2014, Airports of Thailand (AOT) announced that they would expand Chiang Rai Airport. The plans include building an additional taxiway and more shops, and possibly extending the runway. This should be completed in 2030.
Chiang Rai International Airport was named "Mae Fah Luang", after Princess Srinagarindra, mother of the previous monarch, Bhumibol Adulyadej, reigning under the dynastic name of Rama IX.