Chiang Mai's airport goes back to 1921. Workers cleared a landing strip at Suthep, on the city's western edge. That makes it one of the oldest aviation sites in Thailand. Early flights linked the northern capital with Bangkok, over routes that were slow and hard to travel. The field served both military and civilian planes for years. A terminal for passengers came later, as Thai Airways expanded flights nationwide.
The airport gained international status in the late 1980s. Control later passed to Airports of Thailand, the state company that runs the country's main airfields. Growth sped up fast from the late 1990s, as Chiang Mai became a regular stop for travelers touring Southeast Asia. Charter and scheduled flights from China changed the mix of passengers during the 2010s. At times, Chinese visitors outnumbered every other foreign group combined.
Cheap ticket airlines, known as low cost carriers, turned the Bangkok route into one of the busiest domestic links in Asia. The airport now handles well over eight million passengers most years, far more than its single terminal was built for. Thailand has approved a large expansion here, and may eventually build a second airport for the province. Smoke from seasonal crop burning still causes trouble most springs.