Chiang Mai Airport, The 4th Best In The World

[webfact]

Chiang Mai Airport, the 4th best in the world

File photo, source: wikimedia

BANGKOK, 24 February 2012 (NNT) - The Chiang Mai International Airport has been named one of the top-5 airports in the world.

Airports of Thailand PCL (AOT) President Anirut Thanomkulbutra said on Thursday that the latest survey by the Airports Council International (ACI) has shown that Chiang Mai International Airport is ranked no. 4 on its list of the world’s best airports with annual traffic of less than 5 million passengers.

Mr. Anirut said that the report on the ranking was officially announced on February 14th.

According to the AOT President, thirty-four airports from around the world took part in the latest ranking.

He stated that the survey result came from the answers provided by international passengers to 33 questions that the ACI had raised on their satisfaction toward such issues as the cleanliness, the overall ambience, the politeness of staff and the safety measures.

Mr. Anirut went on to say that being the 4th best airport in the world showed that Chiang Mai International Airport has somewhat succeeded in managing its facilities and providing impressive service to travelers, after all these years.

-- NNT 2012-02-24

[Seri]

i prefer the samui airport.

[bushwacker]

A some what misleading Title. How about saying they are the 4th best airport out of the 34 airports in the world that decided to take part in a survey. Oh yes and these are all small airports of less than 5 million travelers and Oh yes, the judging is done by travelers completing a questionnaire and we all know how accurate they are! And oh yes, the travelers may well have only visited one airport and have nothing to compare too. And there is no consistency with the mix i.e. some travelers would be on holiday vs business, students, or backpackers, and of course the mix of nationalities would have nothing to do with influencing the results. That is to say rich Americans or Europeans have the same expectation as Nigerians or Egyptians. And of course the number of people that completed the survey is not identified because it is not considered important. But really if you ignore all of this then one could say ......

<"Mr. Anirut went on to say that being the 4th best airport in the world showed that Chiang Mai International Airport has somewhat succeeded">

[virtualtraveller]

All the cynics come out the closet. Do a bit of research; the 5th place was for the category 2-5 million passengers, which makes it a very different airport to the large (45 million) ones, the others mentioned in the comments are for different categories. It's hard to find the actual rankings online anywhere, and the criteria aren't clear though you can expect the ACI to measure according to sensible benchmarks.

Actually, if you've been into the upgraded Chiang Mai airport lately you'll discover a modern, uncrowded facility, where processing is quick, facilities are comfortable, security is good but not overbearing, and it's transport links and t/f time to the city good. It may not look all tropical like Samui, but it works, and no one gets ripped off ;-)

[blackpoolbob]

I think it is great Airport, not too much hassle with idiot security guards you find elsewhere. Nice friendly ground staff and a 10 minute journey into the middle of the City - perfect.

[tragickingdom]

What a joke. I would love to see the survey. I don't believe it for one single moment.

[backstairs]

If only one could write that about HKT Phuket. Check in this thursday was horrendous.....

[infernalman7]

The headline is a little misleading. But I couldn't agree more about the findings.

What great about Chiang Mai Airport is how efficient it is. It's not that memorable for good or bad service because you hardly spend more than 30-45 minutes in the airport anyway. If you've used the international side of Chiang Mai Airport before, it's like heaven compared to Suvarnabhumi. It usually takes less than 10 minutes from getting out of the plane to getting out of the airport. Yes, with immigration, customs and luggage claims.

Less is simply more sometimes.

Edited February 24, 2012 by infernalman7

[sprq]

Absolutely!!!

[sprq]

A some what misleading Title. How about saying they are the 4th best airport out of the 34 airports in the world that decided to take part in a survey. Oh yes and these are all small airports of less than 5 million travelers and Oh yes, the judging is done by travelers completing a questionnaire and we all know how accurate they are! And oh yes, the travelers may well have only visited one airport and have nothing to compare too. And there is no consistency with the mix i.e. some travelers would be on holiday vs business, students, or backpackers, and of course the mix of nationalities would have nothing to do with influencing the results. That is to say rich Americans or Europeans have the same expectation as Nigerians or Egyptians. And of course the number of people that completed the survey is not identified because it is not considered important. But really if you ignore all of this then one could say ......

<"Mr. Anirut went on to say that being the 4th best airport in the world showed that Chiang Mai International Airport has somewhat succeeded">

Absolutely!!!

[philw]

What a joke. I would love to see the survey. I don't believe it for one single moment.

Why not give credit where it's due ???

It's a nice, well run little airport.

Why denigrate ?

[lannarebirth]

I used to travel a lot and maybe I've started to take the CM airport for granted, but it is Waaaay more convenient and user friendly than almost any other airport I could name.

I live 5 minutes from the airport, yet I never hear a single jet take off or land. I can depart on a domestic flight with a 30 minute check in. About an hour for an international flight.

I arrived once on an international flight originating in the USA and changing planes in Taipei. I went through a two hour shakedown in the states over the contents of my luggage, with blue lights flashing and a goon squad rushing in with rubber gloves and "swabs" to check the contents of my luggage. After the Homeland Security goons were finished (breaking my luggage BTW) I was thouroughly sickened and happy to be on my way back home. The only comment the Thai customs had about the contents of my luggage when I arived was "Aroi, mak mak". Count your blessings.

Edited February 24, 2012 by lannarebirth

[BookMan]

Was a pleasant and easy airport to use inbound and outbound.

[BookMan]

i prefer the samui airport.

A relaxing airport in many ways indeed. Not too keen on the landings there though... nor the needlessly long walk past all the shops when leaving.

[Fraktalkid]

Chiang Mai airport: nothing to write home about but SO convenient, as others have pointed out. The only useful addition would be a 7-11 (which it didn't have last time I used the airport back in late 2010).

[pointoffew]

What a joke! Admitted, it's been 2 years since I last went to CM airport, but what struck me most was how well it was hidden. Signage was extremely poor, as if the airport did its best not to receive any travellers.

[renaissanc]

I used to travel a lot and maybe I've started to take the CM airport for granted, but it is Waaaay more convenient and user friendly than almost any other airport I could name.

I live 5 minutes from the airport, yet I never hear a single jet take off or land. I can depart on a domestic flight with a 30 minute check in. About an hour for an international flight.

I arrived once on an international flight originating in the USA and changing planes in Taipei. I went through a two hour shakedown in the states over the contents of my luggage, with blue lights flashing and a goon squad rushing in with rubber gloves and "swabs" to check the contents of my luggage. After the Homeland Security goons were finished (breaking my luggage BTW) I was thouroughly sickened and happy to be on my way back home. The only comment the Thai customs had about the contents of my luggage when I arived was "Aroi, mak mak". Count your blessings.

Thank you for making a positive comment about the airport!

[steveyinasia]

I live in Chiang Mai and use the airport at least once a month, compared to other airports around the world it is a dream to get in and out. We must remember though, as an international airport it does not have the volumes of traffic so not fair to compare to old Swampi. CM has some decent coffee shops and no need to be ushered through endless rows of shops like Sydney or London.

[phuketrichard]

Is it April first already!!!!

[KeyserSoze01]

All the cynics come out the closet.

It's hard to find the actual rankings online anywhere, and the criteria aren't clear though you can expect the ACI to measure according to sensible benchmarks.

Seems to be a good reason to be cynical, no?

[MrBrad]

Is there any truth to the rumor that a new airport is being built some distance out southeast of Chiang Mai?

[chirunr]

Most of your questions about methodology, number of participating airports, etc. can be found here.

Regarding the overall winner, Seoul's Incheon Airport, I have landed there 5 times in the past 5 years, and can verify that it is my own personal favorite of all of the dozens of airports of the world that I have visited.

[Greer]

I recently travelled through CM domestic, and although unremarkable, it provided the basic necessities. I dont think the passenger lounge in departures was anything much, but certainly on arrival the process of getting baggage etc was about average.

I havent travelled in or out of CM International, as I live in Bangkok, but I do have to say that the Nok Air check in for domestic seemed awfully slow, but thats down to the airline, not the airport. They were friendly and pleasant as always though.

I am not sure why we have any mention of Incheon, as its pax traffic figures for 2011 were over 28 million... so no comparison. I have not been through Incheon, but I am sure its a very efficient and pleasant airport.

Airports in Thailand that I have used have generally been pleasant and reasonably OK, I still prefer Suvarnabhumi to many overseas airports, but I will always admit that Singapore and Hong Kong are excellent airports - I have lived in both cities and often fly in and out of both places... I guess Bangkok being home just biases me toward Cobra Swamp Airport more than the ones overseas...

[TeddyFlyfisherDavis]

All the cynics come out the closet. Do a bit of research; the 5th place was for the category 2-5 million passengers, which makes it a very different airport to the large (45 million) ones, the others mentioned in the comments are for different categories. It's hard to find the actual rankings online anywhere, and the criteria aren't clear though you can expect the ACI to measure according to sensible benchmarks.

Actually, if you've been into the upgraded Chiang Mai airport lately you'll discover a modern, uncrowded facility, where processing is quick, facilities are comfortable, security is good but not overbearing, and it's transport links and t/f time to the city good. It may not look all tropical like Samui, but it works, and no one gets ripped off ;-)

I happen to be quite fond of Chiang Mai Airport myself...Chiang Rai Airport is pretty nice also...I have been through both several times.

[TeddyFlyfisherDavis]

What a joke! Admitted, it's been 2 years since I last went to CM airport, but what struck me most was how well it was hidden. Signage was extremely poor, as if the airport did its best not to receive any travellers.

Signage...? now there is another subject...

[Johpa]

Ya gotta love CNX. About 1/2 of the departure terminal space is dedicated to domestic travellers, who constitute about 90% of all travelers. On the other hand, if you enter the international departure section you arrive into this large, empty cavernous hall occupied almost entirely by forlorn clerks standing idly at the gift shops that have no customers. So yes, for international arrivals and departures, CNX, which dedicates half it space to that 10%, well it is great for its size.

[philw]

Ya gotta love CNX. About 1/2 of the departure terminal space is dedicated to domestic travellers, who constitute about 90% of all travelers. On the other hand, if you enter the international departure section you arrive into this large, empty cavernous hall occupied almost entirely by forlorn clerks standing idly at the gift shops that have no customers. So yes, for international arrivals and departures, CNX, which dedicates half it space to that 10%, well it is great for its size.

What is wrong with you lot.

It's a small, efficient and friendly little airport doing well and providing a good service.

The constant neg, is unfair, unnecessary and makes you look bad.

Cheap shots and all that.

[blabla1]

In ,out ,no wait,no bullshit, home and hosed in a very short time, i wish every airport was so simple and efficient...like CNX...

[baneko]

I would agree! CM Airport is a great little airport! No hassle, well run and close to the certre of town!

[barefoot1988]

prefer to go through cm airport where i can find the check in counter in minutes, go through immigration within 20 minutues, find and locate the gate and smoking room within 5 minutes.

dont really fancy going through those giant airport with built in shopping malls that i need to arrive an addition of 1 or 2 hours just to walk and find all the dam_n counters, gate and smoking rooms. not really like standing in the line waiting to get a stamp in my passport either.

to me, airport is just like another bus station. want to get out asap

if you compare smaller airport like kl lcct, singpore budget terminal etc, cm airport is dream, but i guess you cant really compare in that way

and there is one thing about all airport, why can't i find a restaurant that doesnt serve food that taste like syntheic