Visa waiver prompts more Singapore flights by Myanmar’s flag carrier

myanmar-national-airlines

Myanmar National Airlines (MNA) will add five more flights per week on its Singapore-Yangon route starting December 1, when the visa waiver between the two countries comes into effect.

Demand for the route, which MNA commenced as a daily service in August 2015, has been slow to moderate, according to some outbound agents in Singapore.

One reason for this, suggested Shirlene Goh, head of sales at ATG Tours, is that Singaporean travellers seeking emerging destinations are faced with many options including Myanmar and Bhutan.

She added that since the visa waiver was announced, there have been more enquiries for Myanmar, though it remains to be seen if demand will significantly pick up.

Yet, Singapore – one of only four international destinations served by the airline – is “the obvious choice” as the carrier expands beyond its domestic network, according to Belinda Sim, general manager of MNA’s GSA in Singapore, Discover the World.

She told TTG Asia: “The countries share good trade relations. There’s also been a lot of student exchange between the two countries. And being the national carrier of Myanmar, they were looking for a place where people from Myanmar were travelling to.”

According to Than Tun, CEO of MNA, Singapore is “one of the most popular destinations, with 1.5 million passengers in the past year”.

Sim expects the visa waiver between the two countries will make “some difference” especially for outbound traffic from Myanmar.

The additional flights will depart Yangon Monday-Friday at 16.00 and touch down in Singapore at 20.30, before returning from Singapore at 21.15 and landing at 22.45.

Currently, carriers serving this route include Singapore Airlines, Jetstar, Silkair, Tigerair and Myanmar Airways International.

A correction was made on October 28, 2016 to reflect that Belinda Sim does not represent MNA

Sponsored Post