By VICTORIA MILKO | FRONTIER
YANGON — Dubai-based airline Emirates will be touching down in Myanmar for the first time next week, with an inaugural flight from Dubai to Yangon International Airport scheduled for August 3.
“There are a lot of eyes on Myanmar right now,” said Mohammad Sarhan, the Emirates Country Manager for Thailand, Myanmar and Indochina. “The country is opening up, business is growing and the government predicts 7.5 million tourists by 2020. When we heard this news, we knew wanted to do business here.”
The new daily set route, capable of transporting a total of 354 passengers per flight, will fly directly from Dubai to Yangon, continuing on to Hanoi, Vietnam.
Sarhan said that flights to Yangon are already overbooked for August, showing promise for the vitality of the new route.
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“Our hope is that the market continues to grow so that we may expand out business within the country,” Sarhan said.
Sarhan said that while initial negotiations for Emirates to operate within Myanmar were stalled by the government change, the length of the process was ultimately on-par with that of other countries.
“It took some time to have things approved, but eventually it all worked,” Sarhan said. “We are grateful that the political environment currently supports us.”
While there are currently no diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates and Myanmar, Sarhan said that he does not anticipate any visa or travel issues to arise.
“We will be working with local third-party agencies and travel companies to ensure things go smoothly, financially and otherwise for our customers,” Sarhan said.
When asked if Emirates planned to expand their operations in Myanmar, Sarhan said it was something that would be considered as business within the country grows.
“We always run, never walk, to new markets,” Sarhan said. “And other airlines always follow.”
