Mae Fah Luang - Chiang Rai International Airport ท่าอากาศยานแม่ฟ้าหลวง เชียงราย Tha-akatsayan Mae Fah Luang Chiang Rai
IATA:CEI ICAO:VTCT
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	Airports of Thailand Royal Thai Police
Serves	Chiang Rai Phayao
Location	Ban Du,Mueang Chiang Rai,Chiang Rai,Thailand
Opened	5 August 1992; 33 years ago (1992-08-05)
Operating base for	Thai AirAsia
Elevation AMSL	390 m / 1,280 ft
Coordinates	19°57′08″N99°52′58″E / 19.95222°N 99.88278°E /19.95222; 99.88278
Website	chiangrai.airportthai.co.th
Maps
CEI/VTCT Location in Thailand Show map of Thailand CEI/VTCT Location in Southeast Asia Show map of Southeast Asia
Interactive map ofMae Fah Luang - Chiang Rai International Airport
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 03/21 3,000 9,843 Asphalt concrete
Statistics (2024)
Total passengers 1,912,8590.38% International passengers 7,3701,819.27% Domestic passengers 1,905,4890.75% Aircraft movements 12,4490.29% Freight (tonnes) 9559.14%
Source: Airports of Thailand[1]

Mae Fah Luang - Chiang Rai International Airport (IATA:CEI,ICAO:VTCT) is inBan Du subdistrict,Mueang Chiang Rai district,Chiang Rai province innorthernThailand.^[2] The airport is about 8 km from the city center. Since 1998, it has been managed by theAirports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT). In 2013, the airport handled over 1,000,000 passengers and 7,000 passenger flights.^[3] The airport had international flight facilities and served a few international routes toMacau,Singapore,Kuala Lumpur,Kunming,Haikou,Hangzhou,Changsha,Xishuangbanna,Shenzhen, andChengdu, all of which were suspended due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.^[4][5] Since travel restrictions were imposed inChina, 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 toSouth Korea.^[6]

In 2014, Airports of Thailand (AOT) announced that they would expand Chiang Rai Airport. The plans include building an additionaltaxiway and more shops, and possibly extending therunway. This should be completed in 2030.^[7]

Chiang Rai International Airport was named "Mae Fah Luang", after PrincessSrinagarindra, mother of the previous monarch,Bhumibol Adulyadej, reigning under the dynastic name of Rama IX.

Since the relaxation of COVID-19 travel restrictions, the airport is handling approximately 3,900 passengers per day.^[6] However, there are still no international flights operating to the airport. Airports of Thailand has approved expansion plans for the airport to attract international carriers and improve the experience for passengers using the airport's facilities. This includes improvements to the airport's entrance and exit roads, the construction of a Maintenance Repair Operation centre (MRO) for aircraft maintenance, and the construction of a parallel taxiway.^[8]

The construction of the aircraft maintenance facility is set to be completed by 31 July 2023. The facility will be able to service and repair largeAirbus andBoeing aircraft from China. The airport will also become a cargo transportation hub for the northern region of Thailand.^[6]

Comparison of passenger volume, aircraft movements and cargo volume atMae Fah Luang - Chiang Rai International Airport, by year

Year	Passengers	Change from previous year	Movements	Cargo (tons)	Notes
2003	417,345	–	3,710	4,238
2004	554,364	032.83%	4,879	4,879
2005	677,407	022.2%	4,927	5,070
2006	696,492	02.82%	5,659	4,753
2007	711,662	02.18%	6,232	2,919
2008	772,286	08.52%	6,734	2,527
2009	648,783	015.99%	5,546	2,287
2010	724,241	011.63%	5,714	2,626
2011	818,163	012.67%	5,819	4,306
2012	986,436	020.57%	7,138	4,755
2013	1,089,232	010.42%	7,181	4,440
2014	1,379,022	026.6%	10,985	3,556
2015	1,745,568	026.58%	13,402	4,491
2016	2,060,200	018.02%	14,590	4,719
2017	2,503,375	021.51%	17,661	4,288
2018	2,867,289	014.54%	20,072	3,531
2019	2,928,881	02.15%	20,128	2,535
2020	1,513,294	048.33%	12,126	963
2021	710,408	053.06%	6,131	586
2022	1,686,726	0137.43%	11,920	920
2023	1,920,228	013.84%	12,485	875	[9]
2024	1,912,859	00.38%	12,449	955

• 30 July 2022: Nok Air Flight 108, aBoeing 737-800 (registered HS-DBR) from Bangkok Don Muang to Chiang Rai with 164 passengers and six crew, landed on Chiang Rai's runway 03 at 21:04L (14:04Z) but veered left off the runway and came to a stop all wheels off the paved runway. There were no injuries reported.^[17] The airport was closed until the aircraft andforeign object debris (FOD) could be moved away from the runway.^[18] The airport reopened and continued operations as normal six days later.^[19]

• Old Chiang Rai Airport (no longer operational)

Chiang Rai travel guide from Wikivoyage

• Mae Fah Luang-Chiang Rai International Airport, official site

• Airports in Thailand
• Buildings and structures in Chiang Rai province
• Airports established in 1992

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