Chiang Mai cuts flying hours for Yi Peng. Check your flight

If you booked a flight to Chiang Mai early in the year to watch the lanterns on Yi Peng night, the evening flight on 24 November in your booking may no longer exist, or may have been moved to the afternoon. And if you have not checked your airline's emails or app, you may find out standing at the check-in counter.

This year the Yi Peng flight schedule has changed a lot. Group Captain Sakan Udon, director of Chiang Mai International Airport, said on 3 November that during the festival the airport will handle flights for about 12 hours a day, down from about 20 hours normally, Thairath and The Nation reported. Schedules for 21 to 28 November, as of 30 October, show 108 flights already cancelled and 80 retimed, while airlines have added 105 extra flights to make up for them.

More than 200,000 lanterns will rise into the planes' flight paths

The cause is lanterns. The airport expects more than 200,000 sky lanterns, illuminated lanterns and smoke lanterns to be released inside its aviation safety zone, the airspace around the airport that planes use to climb after take-off and descend before landing. Picture a paper lantern with a flame inside rising into the path of a plane on its approach, then burning out and dropping onto the runway. A lantern left there is foreign debris that has to be cleared before the next plane can use the runway.

So Chiang Mai province has asked airlines not to fly at the times when most lanterns go up. The first window is 10am to noon on 24 November, the time for smoke lanterns, or "wao hom", which northern Thais release in the daytime and which, under the province's rules, may stay aloft for no more than 7 minutes. The second is 7pm to 1am the next day on the nights of 24 and 25 November, the time for sky lanterns. Together, those two windows are why almost half of each day's flying hours disappear.

The airport is preparing in other ways too. Pilots and cabin crew have been told the lantern release times in advance, and staff will inspect the runway and apron more often to look for lanterns and debris. The airport is also working with the province and surrounding districts to control where lanterns are released.

Fewer hours of flights, but more people

Fewer hours does not mean fewer passengers. The airport expects an average of about 210 flights a day during the festival, with up to 232 on the busiest day, about 10% more than a normal day. When the same number of flights or more must fit into 12 hours, they bunch up at certain times, and more people than usual will be waiting in the terminal at once.

Put simply, the queues for check-in, security and transport out of the airport will be longer than you are used to. The airport said it will add security screening points for passengers and bags and allocate check-in counters to match the number of flights in each period. For getting into town, limousines, metered taxis, shuttles and the RTC City Bus together run about 1,280 trips a day, Grab has about 2,500 cars a day, and nine car hire companies operate there.

Check your flight every time before you leave home, and arrive early

Anyone flying to or from Chiang Mai between 21 and 28 November should start by opening their airline's app or website to see whether their flight is still on, has been retimed or has been cancelled, and check again before leaving home for every trip, because the airport warned that times may still change. If your flight has been cancelled or moved, contact the airline you booked with directly to ask about options, because the airline holds the latest schedule for your flight.

On the day, the airport advises arriving at least 2 hours before departure for domestic flights and 3 hours for international flights. Use online check-in, self-service check-in kiosks or automated bag drop to avoid long queues at the counter, and check the rules on liquids, gels, sprays and prohibited items before you pack, because anything that has to come out of your bag at security costs time on the day with the longest queues of the year.

Lanterns may go up on only two nights, and need permission first

This year's Yi Peng festival in Chiang Mai runs from 23 to 25 November, the Chiang Mai provincial public relations office said. But the province allows sky lanterns and fireworks on only two nights, 24 and 25 November, from 7pm to 1am the next day. Smoke lanterns may be released only on 24 November, from 10am to noon. They must meet the community product standard, and tying firecrackers to a lantern is strictly banned.

Anyone organising a lantern release must first apply for permission through the Bampen app, submitting the request to the local district chief and signing an agreement to the safety conditions, Chiang Mai News reported. The areas under the planes' take-off and landing paths are a level 1 special watch zone, or red zone, where releasing lanterns is completely banned, and anyone who breaks the rules faces penalties under the law. Visitors who want to release a lantern should go to an authorised event and follow the province's rules on places, dates and times.

There are three things you can do from today. If you have a ticket to or from Chiang Mai between 21 and 28 November, open your booking today and check the latest flight time. If you have not booked yet, choose a flight outside the two no-flying windows on 24 and 25 November. And on the day you travel, reach the airport 2 hours before departure for a domestic flight, or 3 hours for an international one.

Sources

• Thairath: ท่าอากาศยานเชียงใหม่ เปลี่ยนเวลา ยกเลิก 108 เที่ยวบิน เลี่ยงโคมลอยยี่เป็ง
• The Nation: Chiang Mai airport cuts flight operating hours for Yi Peng festival
• Chiang Mai Provincial Public Relations Office: เชียงใหม่ เตรียมความพร้อมจัดงานประเพณียี่เป็ง 2569
• Chiang Mai News: เชียงใหม่ย้ำมาตรการปล่อยโคมยี่เป็ง 2569 ต้องขออนุญาตผ่านแอปฯ บำเพ็ญ