CHIANG MAI AIRPORT review : 25 September 2008 : by Teddy Chiew

Customer Rating : 3/5

Just back from Chiang Mai. The immigration took some time to clear although 70% of counter is open, my queue hardly moved. Didn't take deal with taxi as had arranged for hotel transfer. When departing, few shops and information counter. Quite amusing that luggage scanning is done on the entrance thus making a long queue outside the departure lobby. After check in, pass the immigration swiftly and into a quite big empty departure hall with few duty shop open, small outlet of black canyon coffee and a small massage centre.

Chiang Mai Airport review by James Halley

31 December 2006   Customer Rating : n/a

The new international terminal is open and airlines have moved their check-in desks finally into the new terminal. It is a modern version of what existed in the old terminal although rumour has it that there will be a TG lounge in the international departures area. The same very limited choice of duty free and a black canyon coffee outlet. You still use the old domestic terminal if travelling to BKK or other Thai airports. Arrivals is a bit more pleasant with a few more immigration desks. Even more limited duty free shop which is closed for very late arrivals. Having waxed lyrical about the meter taxis, this service has gone downhill. Arriving at varying times of the day from 0735 to 2330 has seen no taxis at the airport whatsoever. Not good enough. And the bus routes/timetables are as confusing as ever. Still haven't worked out why route 6/L didn't take me to the airport. It got close!

Chiang Mai Airport review by Steve Koenig

15 November 2006

Arrived at Chiang Mai Airport on a domestic Thai Airlines flight from Bangkok, after transferring from a Bangkok Airways flight from Siem Reap. Upon arrival in Chiang Mai, we waited and waited for our baggage to arrive. After nearly everyone else had left with their bags, we asked around and found that our bags had been sent to the international arrivals area, at the other end of the airport. Although our arriving flight was a domestic one, the baggage had been transferred at Bangkok (we didn't have to claim it and go through customs there; just passed through customs with our hand carry), so we had to go through customs in Chiang Mai. Process was quick and painless, and personnel were friendly. Just wish we'd known earlier.

Chiang Mai Airport review by Quek Keng Guan

1 June 2006

First time using CNX airport. Immigration staff are warm and friendly. Tried to amuse my daughter after a 3 hr flight from SIN. Airport is small with about 4-5 lanes for immigration clearance and 2-3 belts for baggage claim. There is about 2 fast food outlets, 1 ice cream outlet, 1 coffee outlet, and a Thai resturant (worth the $). After passing through the customs, there is only 1 duty free shop in the international terminal. Massage counter in the departure area is 2x the price in the night bazar! Overall, the terminal needs to be upgraded to cope with the increasing number of passengers especially from the domestic areas. There is about 3 international flights/day and about 15-20 domestic flights/day. They are in the midst of building a new terminal. The Bangkok Airways lounge for all passengers looks very appealing!

Chiang Mai Airport review by James Halley

8 April 2006

I live in Chiang Mai and fly in/out at least 4-6 times a month. The airport has been upgraded in the 2 years I have been here and the new TG lounge is really rather nice. Typical thai decor. Adequate snacks/beverages. Why are westerners hung up on alcohol. Is it really impossible to go anywhere without consuming the stuff? BKK is only an hour away!! And that is an airline issue not the airports. Buy an overpriced beer upstairs! The restaurant upstairs is a rip-off but this is not a unique problem to CNX as it is true of just about every airport i can think of (and I travel around 70000 miles a year so i know a few). CNX has much going for it notably the close proximity to the centre of town and the recent addition of a meter taxi service which I always use, and a bus service which passes the end of my street, if I could just fathom out what their schedule is supposed to be!! and the ability of being able to clear immigration here off most (BUT NOT ALL) connecting flights is a real plus. Some carriers have no agreement, so TG in BKK claim, (and disputed by BKK customs), to transit BKK and thus benefit from this facility. I arrived in BKK on Gulf Air (GF) and found this out the hard way, but no problems with Emirates. So you end up having to clear immigration in BKK, travel to CNX as a domestic passenger then reunite yourself with your baggage in the customs hall by walking in 'the wrong way'. Fortunately there is no problem as the security people probably see this off every flight. And to those who dream of flights from the USA or Australia direct to CNX, please stop dreaming. We have lost the non-stop narita flight into CNX so the thought of an LAX-CNX flight is sheer fantasy. So we will all be stuck with a night in BKK. A new HKG-CNX flight is about to start with Hong Kong Express. But having seen how they cancel flights from HKG to Guangzhou, one wonders how long this will last. But Silk Air to SIN and Air Asia to KL is appreciated and reliable! Travel well, travel safe. Then enjoy Chiang Mai. Value for money here is second to none.

Chiang Mai Airport review by Francis Chan

2 January 2006

Chiangmai Airport is clearly unable to cope with the rapidly increasing traffic. It is always congested and crowded. Having used the airport at least a dozen times over the past year or two, I can say that almost always the flights would be delayed, no matter what airline you use. Sometimes for just 10-15 minutes, sometimes for several hours.

Chiang Mai Airport review by  Terry McManus

11 January 2005

This is what a good local hub is all about. Although not very big by international standards it is a very user friendly Airport with good facilities, shops, bars etc. Located only about 10 minutes from the centre of town by taxi it is very easy to get to and even easier to leave from. A pleasure to use and reflective of the goodwill and even bigger welcome smiles from the people of Northern Thailand.

Chiang Mai Airport review by  Mike Gallant

15 November 2004

Surprised to learn how small Chiang Mai airport is and yet hosts many large aircraft each day (Thai A300-600 and Orient Thai B747-200). My overall impression of the airport was okay. The TG Biz/First Class Lounge was adequate, had a good number of food items (better than many lounges at larger airports I've visited - namely DTW and NRT). But no alcohol (just like TG flights, even in premium cabin). Too bad there is no bus transit service to town (though the flat rate of $100 baht for cab fare is not so bad).

Chiang Mai Airport review by  Pisut Ruttanaporn

2 May 2004

I come from Chiang Mai. So I use this airport to get out of the city pretty regularly. The airport is quite small but it has all the the modern equipments that other international airports have. It can be crowded with passengers all day long, which makes it so lively, to remind you to get there early for your flight. The airport is on its way for expansion. There is some improvement on the runway and I believe the internal terminal has been upgraded to take more passengers too. I heard that in the near future there will be some inter-continental flights come to CNX regularly too. I like this idea because I can skip the overnight stay in BKK when I got to Thailand from America or Australia.

Chiang Mai Airport review by  Bryan Chao

12 October 2003

It's quite small old facility and stuffed with many amenities - post office, bank, duty-free, souvenir shops, snack bars, transportation/hotel kiosk and even massage chairs. But there is not much room there. Baggage claim area can be very hard to maneuver for Airbus 300 passenger load. Interior decoration is heavy with Thai hand crafts. It's only 15-min ride from city center.

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