Chiang Mai Airport

I was traveling to NYC, USA, on 24 Feb, 2017. Airport very crowded, sometimes not enough seats and seats were uncomfortable. No water fountain on ground level, one water bottle on second level to serve too many people so there was a long queue. I finally gave up and bought a bottle of water. Ladies room had no soap, no paper towels, no hand drier. Very unsanitary! In contrast, the facilities at the Seoul airport were cleaner, had hand soap, paper towels, and comfortable seats.

Arrived into Chiang Mai on the 31st of December from Luang Prabang in Laos, and it was chaos! Several Chinese flights arrived at the same time and there was not enough space for all the people. No staff available to direct the people and nobody knew where the line started. With only 4 officers on duty, it took us more than 2 hours to get through immigration. My pre-booked driver left because he thought I was not on the flight and there was no way to contact him because the airport wi-fi was not working. They desperately need to change the international arrivals area to accommodate all the passengers. Departure was a domestic flight to Bangkok which was a bit better than the horrific experience in the international arrivals terminal. Will definitely avoid this airport in the future as far as I can.

Avoid flying into Chiang Mai on an international flight at all costs. I have been here two and a half hours now (and still waiting) trying to get through passport control. The queue is one and a half to two hours long. That's a problem for me as I have a damaged leg and can't stand in one place for an hour. The pain starts to get bad at 30 minutes. Never been a problem at any other airport. Unfortunately, I don't have a doctor's certificate. Until they either build another terminal or perhaps limit arrivals I recommend staying well away from Chiang Mai International. Pass through immigration in Bangkok or even Phuket and then fly domestic.

✅ Verified Review | I had thought Chiang Mai would be more pleasant and less busy than BKK, but I was wrong. A long queue at the foreigners security check and the staff were exceptionally slow. We were fortunately one of the first passengers off the flight and near the front of the queue but it still took nearly 40 mins to get through. Those passengers last off the flight would have to have waited much longer. Staff seemed to have little interest in what they were supposed to be doing and were constantly doing other things (such as looking at their phones). Once through this the baggage reclaim was a dream since all the bags were already on the carousel. Return experience through domestic terminal much better. Check-in smooth and security checks were reasonably quick. Lounge not very comfortable but at least there were plenty of seats.

✅ Verified Review | I found Chiang Mai Airport domestic to be fine, there is some room for improvement as the building is now overcapacity. It is old, giving a claustrophobic feel, terminal extension may cause a tatty feeling, arriving passengers will find themselves having to wait outside for a limousine service. Despite those cosmetic defects, service is impeccable. Their staff accommodate passengers quickly, while always wearing a smile. Distance to city is short and taxi service is cheap. On my return, I spent just a few minutes from check in counter, security, and to departure hall. Plenty of food choices at inexpensive price range.

Arrived at the furthermost gate at Chiang Mai airport and had to walk quite a long distance to get to the baggage claim. Plenty of food options before security. Staff are willing to assist, but not always fluent in English. Located pretty close to the city and easy to access by car, but the pick-up / drop-off area should be more organised. Because of its small size comparative to Phuket, queueing times minimal.

Truly efficient on arrival with luggage quickly on the belt, less on departure as the airport has become too small for its traffic. A big plus is that it is very close from the city, the drawback is that all over town you hear the planes. Departure is not quite as efficient with more quieus but honestly acceptable. The 2 airline lounges (Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways) are always overcrowded. Staff in general are not as nice as in other Thailand airports for some unknown reason: I have been through this one at least 20 times and it's always the same, be it airline or airport staff.

Relatively small airport that was very efficient on arrival. There are plenty of signs pointing out where to go and the place is clean. As the airport is so close to the city transport links are quick. Departure is straightforward but you do have to queue up outside to get your luggage x-rayed which might be a problem in the wet season. Good system at check in desks and efficient staff on security who organise the lines very well to minimise queues. Not many places to eat after security and on some gates such as 5 there is a shortage of places to sit.

This review concerns international arrivals not domestic. It's a fairly small but user friendly airport. However, the smoothness and ease of your arrival is hugely dependant on your arrival time. My flight which arrived at about 7pm had me joining a fairly long queue of passengers from 2 other flights. For years, Thailand still hasn't improved it's arrival procedures regardless of which airport you arrived at. Each passenger took a few good minutes to process. This time the waiting time was nearly 45 minutes. On a positive note, my luggage was on the carousel waiting for me. Unless you've arranged transportation. Transfer to the hotel via taxi can be tricky as it's not easy to find. The staffs that manned6the arrival hall exit liked to steer passengers to use their slightly overpriced van. Despair not. The meter taxi is actually on the domestic arrival side. That's the far left end of the airport as you exit. Sometimes you may find a tuk tuk and can haggle a bit to get to your accommodation at an acceptable rate. This only work if you have little luggage.

Chiang Mai Airport is small, manageable and easy to use. At the arrival hall you exit directly into the street with many taxi drivers - I recommend you go further and catch one driver at the parking lot and negotiate. At the arrival hall the prices are much higher then later. At the arrival hall you have also a lot of ATM machines. Departures are also very easy to use (we had domestic flight). On the ground floor you have check ins and before you go through security, you have departure hall with many shops and restaurants. After the security gates there is seating area, but since this airport is very busy, there is not enough seating usually. If you travel with children, some airline companies have a priority boarding for families with children - that is very useful and I am grateful for every airline company that does that - not all do.