NewGen Airways (Bangkok Don Mueang) operated a maiden flight out of its base at Bangkok Don Mueang to Myeik in southern Myanmar on February 23, 2018, the first international service out of the latter facility, the Myanmar Times has reported.
The flights will be operated 3x weekly as charter services in cooperation with local tour operator Tun Htaik Tin Company, using B737-400 equipment. Myeik airport lacks permanent border and customs facilities and is not considered as an international gateway by the Myanmarese authorities, meaning that scheduled international services are not currently possible.
However, the government plans to upgrade the airport at Kawthaung, also located in southern Myanmar, to further boost the already quickly growing inflow of tourists to this part of the country, located on the Andaman coast not far from Phuket or Krabi in Thailand.
"We are preparing to upgrade three domestic airports: Kawthaung Airport in Tanintharyi, Heho Airport in Shan and Mawlamyine Airport in Mon. We have four companies bidding for the work at Kawthaung Airport, two companies at Mawlamyine and three at Heho," deputy director general of the Department of Civil Aviation U Ye Htut Aung has said.
Currently, the only three airports in Myanmar with permanent international facilities are Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw, and Mandalay International.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, NewGen Airways operates a fleet of four B737-400s and eight B737-800s, predominantly serving the Chinese market out of Bangkok Don Mueang, Krabi, and Phuket.
