Myanmar Ponders Future as an Air Transport Player
AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE » SEPTEMBER 9, 2013 by NEELAM MATHEWS Myanmar’s flag carrier, Myanmar Airways, flies seven Airbus A320s. (Photo: Myanmar Airways) September 9, 2013, 10:10 AM As it embarks on a series of reforms under a new government that took office in March 2011, Myanmar has set its sights on next year for the release of a national civil aviation policy to prepare for a traffic boom that threatens to overwhelm its woefully inadequate air transport infrastructure. The country’s fast growing airline industry now counts seven domestic carriers, and four more airlines owned by Myanmar nationals have submitted applications to launch operations. Government forecasts predict an increase in annual visitors to six million in 2017. Overcrowding has already become so dire that the Department of Civil Aviation ( DCA ) has restricted the number of airlines that can operate out of Yangon International Airport ( YIA )...