Air Mandalay stops Thailand flights

_{By Hseng Khio Fah}

There used to be more than 60 passengers each flight from Chiang Mai or Bangkok to Rangoon, but the number of passengers has significantly dropped, sometimes to 5 or 6, said the source.

“Before, there were no less than 50 passengers. Today, we just have 23 people. I heard that they [Air Mandalay] will stop flights until the end of August. This was the last flight,” said a passenger who flied from Rangoon to Chiang Mai on 5 June.

A staff from Air Mandalay office in Chiang Mai confirmed that Rangoon-Thailand flights will stop until 7 August 2008.

The number of border-cross tourists has also dropped, said a tourist guide from Mae Sai-Tachilek border.

After cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy delta and some parts of southern Burma, tourists who had often visited Burma in the past stopped coming, said the source.

"We used to receive guests at least 3- 4 times a month. Right now, those who had made bookings earlier have canceled their trips. Even though it is high season there are no tourists because of unstable situation in Burma," the source said.

Since November, 2007 some foreign tourism companies based in Rangoon have also closed their businesses, according a Rangoon-based tourist guide.

On 2 -3 May tropical Cyclone Nargis hit the coast of Burma and devastated large parts of the low-lying Irrawaddy delta, leaving at least 134,000 dead or missing and up to 2.5 million people homeless.