Myanmar National Airlines (UB) Guide

Myanmar National Airlines is the state-owned flag carrier of Myanmar, based at Yangon International Airport.

Please note: bookingMentor is an independent travel service and is not affiliated with Myanmar National Airlines. Routes, schedules and baggage rules change, so always confirm the details of your booking with the airline.

What to expect

Myanmar National Airlines (MNA) is Myanmar's state-owned flag carrier and one of the oldest airlines in Asia. It began on 15 September 1948 as Union of Burma Airways, became Burma Airways in 1972 and Myanma Airways in 1989, and adopted its present name in December 2014. Myanmar Airways International, set up in 1993 as a joint venture, is a separate airline with its own 8M code and network.

MNA is mainly a domestic operator. Yangon International is its hub and Mandalay its second base, and a fleet of ATR 72-600 turboprops links them with Bagan, Nay Pyi Taw, Dawei, Kawthaung and other towns that are hard to reach by road. For international flying it uses Boeing 737-800s, which have eight business seats at the front. MNA has interline agreements with Thai Airways, Qatar Airways, Vietnam Airlines, Japan Airlines and Garuda Indonesia, which can allow a single ticket with bags checked through.

The Thai route most travellers need is Yangon to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, flown on the 737. See Yangon to Bangkok flights and Bangkok to Yangon flights for fares and timings. MNA's booking site also offers Yangon to Chiang Mai, which you can compare on Yangon to Chiang Mai flights, and it flies to Singapore.

International visitors usually reach Yangon through Bangkok, where the MNA flight leaves from Suvarnabhumi, the same airport used by most long-haul arrivals and routes such as Dhaka to Bangkok. Check Myanmar entry rules and current travel advice before you book, as conditions inside the country can change quickly.

Seventy-five years of Burmese aviation

Union of Burma Airways was set up by the government on 15 September 1948, shortly after independence. It flew domestic routes at first and added a few services to neighbouring countries in 1950. It became Burma Airways in December 1972 and Myanma Airways on 1 April 1989. In 1993 it withdrew from international routes and left them to Myanmar Airways International, then a new joint venture. International flights under its own name restarted only after the 2014 rebrand: Singapore on 19 August 2015, Hong Kong on 4 December 2015 and Bangkok in February 2016.

In 2012 the airline leased two Embraer 190s to replace its old Fokker F28s, and in February 2014 it signed for six Boeing 737-800s and four 737 MAX jets through GECAS, the largest aircraft deal in Myanmar's history. MNA is owned by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, employs about 12,000 people and is led by Captain Khup Khan Mung. On 30 September 2022 a bullet struck an ATR 72 landing at Loikaw and injured a passenger.