Chiang Mai International Airport has already cancelled 108 flights and shifted the times of another 80 for the Yi Peng festival, and is asking passengers to leave plenty of time to get to the gate.
Group Capt Sakan Udon, the airport director, said on November 2 that lanterns, fire balloons and smoke lanterns will go up across the province on November 24 and 25. More than 200,000 are expected inside the airport’s flight safety zone, based on figures from October 30. Chiang Mai province has asked airlines to stay out of the sky while they do. That means 10am to noon on November 24, and 7pm to 1am on both nights.
The effect is to squeeze the airport’s operating day from about 20 hours to about 12. Meanwhile the festival brings roughly 210 flights a day, peaking at 232, about 10% more than usual.
Airline figures from October 30 cover November 21 to 28. Along with the 108 cancellations and 80 retimings, 105 extra flights have been added, so departures may bunch up and the terminal may be busier than usual.
On the safety side, the airport has warned pilots about the lantern windows, stepped up checks of the airfield for stray lanterns and debris, and met with the province, districts and airport agencies. It is also asking the public and event organisers to follow the province’s rules on where, when and on which days lanterns may be released. Level 1 special watch areas, the red zones under the take-off and landing paths, are strictly off limits. A lantern that drifts into a flight path or near the airport can damage aircraft and engines, the airport said, and Yi Peng can be honoured without that risk.
For arriving passengers, the airport says it has lined up Airport Limousine, metered taxis, shuttle buses and the RTC City Bus, about 1,280 trips a day in all. Grab is expected to field around 2,500 cars a day, and nine car rental firms are on board.
Departing passengers will find check-in counters allocated by the hour and extra security screening points. The airport is nudging people towards online check-in, self-service kiosks (CUSS) and self bag drop to shorten queues.
Anyone flying between November 21 and 28 should check flight status with their airline before every trip, since times can change or flights be cancelled for safety reasons. Domestic passengers should be at the airport at least two hours before departure, and international passengers at least three.
