Yangon to improve airport facilities

Yangon International Airport’s domestic departure lounge will be replaced by an entirely new building over the next 18 months, authorities confirmed this week.
Airport general manager, Win Ko said: “The departure lounge will be demolished and rebuilt. Until it is ready we will have to use the lounge provided for VIPs as the main departure lounge”
Yangon Airport is Myanmar’s main international gateway and currently services 2.7 million passengers a year.
Although the airport can be expanded to accommodate 20 million passengers a year, contractors are restricted by residential areas and the Mingladon Air Force Base nextdoor.
Pioneer Aerodrome Services, a subsidiary of Asia World recently won a tender to upgrade Yangon International Airport. The airport authorities and company representatives are still in discussions over the contract details.
Yangon’s international airport should handle 2.3 million passenger movements this year according to the latest estimate by the Department of Civil Aviation.
The department general director, Tin Naing Tun, said the increase in passenger traffic was driven by a mix of business visitors keen to check out investment opportunities as well as tourists.
In 2012, the airport handled 1.9 million foreign passengers and 1.1 million Myanmar citizens, compared to 1.45 million foreign passengers and 1 million locals in 2011.

Sourced: ttrweekly