Passenger numbers through Chiang Mai International Airport dropped 31% in February as the global coronavirus pandemic cut into tourist numbers.
According to data from Airports of Thailand, the biggest decline came from international passengers which dropped to 116,769 for the month, down a whopping 63.18% compared to February 2019. By comparison, there were 336,666 international passengers in January.
Domestic passengers continued a slide which started in December coming in at 601,981 for the month, down 17.4% year-over-year. In January there were 745,937 domestic passengers through the airport.
Aircraft movements reflected the downturn in passengers. International aircraft flying in and out of Chiang Mai came in at 1,337 in February, down 39.23% compared to February 2019. Domestic aircraft movements came in at 4,579, down 3.23%.
If January was the calm before the storm, the storm started to hit in February and worse days are ahead in the coming months with most international flight serving CNX now canceled along with many domestic carriers also cutting back flights.
