Yangon International Airport and Emirates Receive First Millionth passenger of 2018

Yangon International Airport (YIA), the largest and busiest airport in Myanmar capable of handling 20 million passengers, welcomed its first millionth passenger of 2018 today. Ma Lwin Mar Myint, traveling on board Emirates EK-388 flight from Dubai arrived in YIA Terminal 1 at 4:55pm and was warmly greeted by our welcoming party.

To commemorate the occasion, Ma Lwin Mar Myint received 1 Million MMK in cash in addition to a variety of other gifts valued at over 1 Million MMK. These gifts include a two-night stay in Horizon Lakeview Hotel and Resort in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, a Samsonite travel luggage, an Artisan made-in-Myanmar bag, a Fossil passport holder, a JBL travel speaker, as well as other travel accessories. Travelers on the same flight also received complimentary duty-free vouchers as part of the occasion.

Ma Lwin Mar Myint said “I am very happy to win this unexpected prize. It is my very first time experiencing this kind of event. I am very excited and also very happy to have received the warm hospitality of Yangon International Airport and Emirates.”

Mr José Angeja, Chief Operating Officer, Yangon Aerodrome Company Limited commented, “This is a fantastic milestone to round of our second month of operations for 2018. With almost 6 million passengers passing through the airport last year, we invite all who visit Myanmar to experience her hospitality. Besides working hard to deliver the operational benefits at YIA, partnering with airlines such as Emirates on these types of programmes is another way to show our appreciation to travelers in line with our commitment towards being a high-performance airport.”

“With daily flights from Yangon to Phnom Penh and to Dubai, Emirates is proud to be the airline that has flown in YACL's millionth passenger in 2018," said Mohammad Sarhan, Manager of Myanmar, Thailand, and Indochina for Emirates.

"Since launching into this market almost two years ago, we've worked hard to connect Myanmar with the rest of the world through our global network, and we're happy to hear a lucky passenger has won this prestigious honor after flying with us.

 “We look forward to continue working with YACL in bringing in even more passengers to explore the sights and sounds of Myanmar.”

Connecting Terminal 1 and 2 for passenger convenience

Recently, YIA has undergone further development as part of Phase 2 of the airport masterplan to extend Terminal 1 which will be connected to Terminal 2. Slated for completion in the coming months, the new connection is expected to enhance the overall convenience and accessibility for all international passengers, adding a new dimension to the overall capacity.

Yielding more than 200,000 square feet of added space across 3 levels, passengers can also look forward to enjoying even more retail and F&B options with new brand partners coming onboard, adding to the 127 options already available today.

Ready to handle long-term capacity needs

YIA is ready for future passenger demand as it is built to handle up to 20 million passengers, welcoming 5.92 million passengers in 2017. This represents 8.48% growth over 5.45 million passengers in 2016. Of these, 66% or 3.93 million comprised international passengers and the other 34% or 1.99 million were domestic passengers. Overall air traffic movements increased by 11.05% in 2017 to 78,076, compared to 70,307 movements in the same period a year ago.

Currently serving 28 international airlines and 8 domestic airlines, YIA has attracted renowned full-service airlines such as Emirates Airlines, Malindo Air and Cathay Dragon in recent years. These airlines have opened new routes to Yangon over the last two years since Yangon Aerodrome Company Limited took over the operation of YIA.

Moving forward, YIA targets a growth rate in line with Myanmar’s forecasted GDP growth of 7.2% for 2018 by way of World Bank’s estimates.  Looking at growth trends across the 3 current international airports – YIA, Naypyitaw International Airport and Mandalay International Airport –  YIA is well ahead of its handling capacity of 20 million passengers per annum to cater to future needs for the next decade.