BANGKOK, 23 March 2020: Bangkok Airways has scrapped a series of six running events planned for this year while announcing the Chiang Rai Half Maraton will not feature in the 2021 line-up.
The airline said the decision to scrap the entire 2020 race series followed a decline in bookings and event registration.
The Bangkok Airways Boutique Race Series usually covers six half-marathon races hosted at tourist destinations in Thailand such as Krabi, Samui, Lampang, Phang Nga, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.
However, the Chiang Rai event is now excluded from the airline’s race calendar as the airline no longer flies to the far north city after an eight-year stint serving the destination with three flights daily. Most of the blame for the destination’s declining traffic is attributed to Chiang Rai’s shrinking tourism season caused mainly by heavy smog from February to March.
Instead, the airline will feature a half marathon in Sukhothai that will join the race series 12 September 2021.
The revised dates for the six races in 2021 have now been confirmed.
Krabi Half Marathon in Krabi 9 May 2021.
Samui Half Marathon” in Surat Thani, 13 June 2021.
Lampang Half Marathon in Lampang 11 July 2021.
Phang Nga Half Marathon in Phang Nga 1 August 2021.
Sukhothai Half Marathon in Sukhothai 12 September 2021.
Lanna Half Marathon” in Chiang Mai 10 October 2021.
Runners who seeking a refund of their registration fees should visit www.runlah.com, or www.bangkokairwaysrun.com from 30 March to 14 April.
For runners who do not want a refund, the system will automatically transfer their registration to the same races in 2021. For runners who registered in the Chiang Rai race, their rights will be transferred to Sukhothai race instead.
For those who are seeking fare refunds, they need to contact Bangkok Airways Call Centre 1771. (THB3 per call nationwide applies, only for landline phones) Lines are busy overloaded by a deluge of requests for refunds and change of flights in recent weeks.
