The airport began operations in 1934 as Suthep Airport,[3] after it developed as an airstrip in the early 1920s. Until World War Two, it was used mainly for postal delivery services, with some military use. During the war, it was used by the occupying Japanese forces, and was hence attacked by British and US air forces.[4]
The first scheduled passenger flight to Chiang Mai arrived in 1947, with the foundation of Siamese Airways. At this time and until the late 1950s the runway surface was still grass or dirt, with very few support buildings.[4]
Upgrades in 2014 included expanding the apron for larger planes, extending operating hours to 24/7 (effective April 2014), and enlarging the international arrival hall and domestic departure hall.[5]
Airports of Thailand expanded the terminal with upgrades in 2014 including expansion of the apron for larger planes, extending operating hours to 24/7 (effective April 2014), and enlarging the international arrival hall and domestic departure hall.[5] As of 2018, 31 airlines operated at CNX, serving 11 million passengers, 78,210 flights and 14,612 tonnes of cargo.[6]
The airport is at an elevation of 316 metres (1,037 ft) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 18/36 with an asphalt surface measuring 3,100 by 45 metres (10,171 ft × 148 ft).[8] There are two terminals, one for domestic passengers and the other for international flights.[citation needed]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Annual passenger traffic at CNX airport.
See Wikidata query.
Traffic by calendar year
Comparison of passenger volume, aircraft movements and cargo volume at Chiang Mai International Airport, by year[28]
Year
Passengers
Change from previous year
Movements
Cargo (tons)
Notes
2011
3,880,037
–
32,445
21,484
2012
4,491,331
015.75%
36,981
19,628
2013
5,463,921
021.65%
43,366
18,188
2014
6,630,624
021.35%
52,642
17,796
2015
8,365,851
026.17%
63,843
18,425
2016
9,446,320
012.92%
69,202
18,512
2017
10,230,280
08.3%
71,994
17,302
2018
10,989,869
07.42%
78,210
14,615
2019
11,333,548
03.13%
79,504
12,313
2020
4,851,475
057.19%
39,455
4,915
2021
1,762,732
063.67%
16,051
3,318
2022
5,459,481
0209.72%
39,027
5,584
2023
8,224,573
050.65%
55,663
5,255
2024
9,082,071
06.88%
59,493
5,474
Busiest international routes 2019
Busiest international routes to and from Chiang Mai Airport (2019)[29]