Chiang Mai Airport Cancels 108 Flights and Shortens Its Day for the 2026 Yi Peng Lanterns

Airlines have canceled 108 flights and retimed 80 more at Chiang Mai International Airport between November 21 and 28, 2026, to keep aircraft clear of the sky lanterns released for Yi Peng and Loy Krathong. The airport’s director set out the figures in a statement reported on November 3, based on airline schedules as of October 30.

The festival nights fall on November 24 and 25, when more than 200,000 sky and smoke lanterns are expected inside the airport’s air navigation safety zone, according to the airport’s statement as reported by Thairath English.

The windows airlines are avoiding

Airlines were asked to keep flights out of two windows, all in local time. The first is 10 a.m. to noon on November 24, and the second runs from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. the following morning on both November 24 and 25.

Those gaps cut the airport’s operating day from about 20 hours to about 12 on the festival dates. Flights that would have used the closed hours have been canceled or retimed.

Airlines have also added 105 special flights across the same week, so the airport still expects about 210 flights a day on average. The busiest days could reach 232, roughly 10% above a normal day, the airport said.

The airport did not name the airlines involved, and The Thaiger, which carried the same figures, did not either. Because the count reflects schedules filed by October 30, it can still change before the festival.

Why a paper lantern can stop a jet

A sky lantern is a paper shell lifted by an open flame, and once released nobody steers it. The UK Civil Aviation Authority, in guidance relayed by ATC Network, warned that lanterns can be ingested into the engines of airborne aircraft and can travel considerable distances at unpredictable heights.

The same guidance flagged what happens when they come down: a burned-out lantern can land on a runway as debris. That makes it a classic case of foreign object damage.

Airports of Thailand (AOT), which runs Chiang Mai, said in 2021 that lanterns near its airports may jeopardize aircraft and pilots’ visual range.

Anything pulled into a running engine can do damage, the same risk behind bird-strike turnbacks such as an American Airlines 737 that returned to Myrtle Beach in August.

For 2026, the airport has stepped up airfield patrols for lanterns and debris and issued a notice to pilots and operators with the release times. Releases are absolutely prohibited in the red zone, the “Special Surveillance Level 1” area that covers the takeoff and landing paths.

What the rules say

Thailand’s Air Navigation Act B.E. 2497, sections 59/1 and 59/2, and a 2020 Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) announcement on activities within the air navigation safety zone prohibit releasing lanterns, rockets, fireworks, laser beams and similar objects there, as AOT set out in a 2021 media release.

In that 2021 release, Chiang Mai’s red-zone ban covered parts of six districts, including all of Mueang and Hang Dong. Outside the zone, releases needed district permission, and the airport or local air traffic control had to be told 14 days ahead.

For this year, the airport told the public and organizers to follow Chiang Mai province’s announcements on approved areas, dates and times. AeroCorner could not find the province’s 2026 announcement online at the time of writing.

How 2026 compares with past festivals

Cutting flights around Yi Peng is an annual routine at Chiang Mai, but this year’s cancellation count is the highest of the recent years below. Each figure was taken on a different date before its festival, so treat the comparison as a guide.

Festival	Canceled	Retimed	Extra flights
Nov 19-20, 2021	16	52	Not stated
Nov 15-16, 2024	74	96	Not stated
Nov 5-6, 2025	65	96	44
Nov 24-25, 2026	108	80	105

Last year, The Nation reported that all flight operations would end by 7 p.m. on the two festival nights. In 2024, 74 flights were canceled and 96 rescheduled, as The Star carried from The Nation.

This year’s midday window on November 24 means late-morning flights that day are affected as well as evening ones. Travelers with any flight that week should confirm their times with the airline rather than rely on the original booking.